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Samsung’s latest software update has sparked concern among some Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Ultra users, with numerous reports suggesting that the update has negatively affected battery performance, charging speed, and overall device temperature. Many users have taken to online technology forums and social media platforms to share their experiences, claiming that their smartphones are no longer performing as efficiently as they did before installing the update. According to user reports, one of the most common issues is rapid battery drain. Several Galaxy owners have said their devices now lose power at a much faster rate, even during light or moderate usage. Some users claim that a phone charged to 100% can drop to a significantly lower battery level within only a few hours, despite being used for basic tasks such as messaging, browsing the internet, or checking emails. This unexpected battery consumption has become a major source of frustration for many customers who previously enjoyed reliable battery life. Another frequently reported problem is overheating. Users say their smartphones become unusually warm shortly after the software update, even when the devices are idle. Some owners have mentioned that their phones heat up while simply resting on a table or couch without any demanding applications running. Others have observed increased temperatures during everyday activities such as streaming videos, browsing social media, or using navigation apps. The excessive heat has raised concerns about the long-term impact on battery health and overall device performance. In addition to battery and heating issues, several users have reported slower charging speeds after updating their devices. According to these reports, phones now require more time to reach a full charge than they did before the software installation. Although charging still functions normally, the extended charging time has become another inconvenience for users who depend on fast charging during their daily routines. Technology enthusiasts and community members believe the issue may be linked to background system processes that fail to complete properly after the update. These processes may become trapped in continuous operating loops, forcing the phone’s processor to remain active even when the device is not being used. As a result, the processor consumes more power than usual, leading to faster battery depletion and higher internal temperatures. While Samsung has not yet released an official statement acknowledging the reported issues, users can try several temporary measures to reduce their impact. Reviewing the Battery Usage section in the Settings menu can help identify applications consuming an unusually high amount of power. Closing these apps, clearing their cache, or limiting background activity may improve battery performance. Users may also benefit from temporarily disabling automatic cloud backups if they suspect syncing services are contributing to the problem. Restarting the smartphone can also terminate unnecessary background processes that may have become stuck after the update, potentially improving battery life and reducing overheating. This is not the first time Samsung users have experienced battery-related issues following a major software release. Similar problems have been reported after previous updates, and in many cases, the company later resolved them by releasing follow-up software patches. Until Samsung provides an official fix, Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Ultra owners experiencing these problems may need to rely on these temporary troubleshooting methods. Users are also encouraged to keep their devices updated, as future software releases are expected to address the reported battery drain, overheating, and charging performance concerns.

  WhatsApp has introduced a major update that brings voice and video calling to WhatsApp Web, allowing users to make and receive calls directly through their web browsers. Previously, these features were available only on the mobile app and the native desktop application. With this latest expansion, WhatsApp Web now offers a more complete communication experience, making it easier for users to stay connected without switching devices. The update significantly enhances the web version by introducing a dedicated Calls tab, where users can view their recent call history, access favorite contacts, and start voice or video calls with ease. WhatsApp Web also now supports features such as screen sharing and emoji reactions during calls, bringing it closer to the experience already available on the desktop application. According to Meta, these improvements are designed to make conversations more convenient for both personal and professional use. Whether users are catching up with friends and family or participating in work meetings, the new calling features aim to provide a smoother and more interactive experience. One of the most notable additions is the ability to transfer an ongoing call between devices without disconnecting. For example, a user who answers a call on a computer can seamlessly continue the conversation on a smartphone without interruption. This feature offers greater flexibility for people who frequently switch between devices during the day. WhatsApp has also introduced waiting rooms for group calls. When creating a call link, hosts can enable the “Require approval to join” option, allowing them to decide who can enter the call. This added layer of control is expected to be especially useful for business meetings, online classes, and large group discussions. The latest update also improves call quality by introducing background noise suppression, helping reduce unwanted sounds during voice and video calls made in noisy environments. In addition, Meta has enhanced video performance by enabling high-definition (HD) video streaming within the first few seconds of a call, providing users with a clearer and sharper video experience much sooner than before. The announcement comes as Meta continues to expand WhatsApp beyond traditional messaging. The company is also developing WhatsApp usernames, which will allow users to connect and make calls without relying solely on phone numbers, offering greater privacy and convenience. The new calling features are being rolled out gradually to WhatsApp users around the world. As the update reaches more devices, users will gain access to a more powerful communication platform that combines messaging, voice calls, video conferencing, and collaboration tools in a single service.

Samsung Electronics stunned markets on Thursday with news that its chip division’s profit had surged more than 250-fold. Alongside the results, the company revealed fresh multi-year supply agreements with major data center operators. It also warned that global chip shortages are likely to worsen and could persist well into 2028. That bold forecast, however, was not enough to calm investor nerves. Concerns remain high over the enormous sums tech firms are pouring into AI infrastructure. Samsung’s shares rose as much as 8.4 percent during trading before closing 0.7 percent lower. Even with that dip, the stock outperformed rival SK Hynix, which closed down a sharper 5.6 percent the same day. Kim Seok-hwan, a market analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said sentiment around chipmakers has shifted. Investors, he noted, are increasingly unsure how long today’s unusually high profit margins can be maintained. This comes right after Samsung’s chip business posted a record-breaking 70 percent operating profit margin. Samsung revealed it has already struck supply agreements with the five biggest data center companies globally. The firm added that it is close to finalizing deals with five more major players, though it did not name them. Jaejune Kim, executive vice president of Samsung’s memory division, told analysts that nearly every client is now asking for long-term, multi-year contracts instead of short-term arrangements. According to Kim, Samsung wants roughly two-thirds of its memory output locked into long-term supply deals. This approach echoes similar moves by SK Hynix, both aiming to shield themselves from the industry’s usual boom-and-bust swings. These new contracts generally span at least five years and often include upfront payments along with guaranteed floor prices, helping companies manage the financial risk tied to heavy capital spending. This announcement follows several rough months for chip stocks, driven largely by investor unease over ballooning AI infrastructure costs and rising competitive pressure from Chinese chipmakers. Both factors have raised doubts about how sustainable current earnings levels really are. Adding to that unease, Meta Platforms disclosed a steep 91 percent drop in its second-quarter free cash flow on Wednesday. That followed an even more striking development from Alphabet the week before, which reported its first-ever quarter with negative cash flow. Together, these results have intensified questions across the industry about whether the current pace of AI spending can hold up much longer without straining company finances.

Snapchat is now drawing a clear line between videos made by humans and those made entirely by machines. The company is betting this move will make its Spotlight feed worth scrolling through again. On Friday, Snap confirmed a major change to its Spotlight recommendation system. Videos that are completely AI-generated will no longer be surfaced through recommendations. Creators can still post this type of content on the platform. However, it will only reach their existing followers going forward. This effectively cuts off the discovery boost that once made Spotlight appealing for fully automated content. Snap isn’t rejecting AI tools altogether, though. Videos edited or enhanced using Snapchat’s own built-in AI features will remain eligible for recommendations. These videos will also carry a visible label, letting viewers know AI played a role in the process. According to Snap, the real issue here comes down to authorship, not the technology itself. Content generated purely from a prompt, without any human involved in filming, performing, or editing, is what’s being pushed out of recommendations. This decision follows similar moves from other major platforms in recent months. YouTube recently revised its monetization policy to exclude videos built around generic, template-based content. That update came after reports last year revealed that several AI-driven creators had built massive followings and earned significant ad revenue through such content. LinkedIn has made changes of its own as well. The platform is now allowing users to report AI-generated posts. At the same time, it’s removing its built-in AI writing prompt that previously encouraged automated post creation. Substack has taken things a step further. The platform introduced a detection system designed to identify AI-generated articles. Speaking on the matter, CEO Chris Best warned that platforms which continue rewarding fake, synthetic content risk starting what he called a race to the bottom. As for Snap, some details remain unclear. The company has not explained exactly how it plans to distinguish fully AI-generated videos from AI-assisted ones at a larger scale. It also hasn’t confirmed whether this policy will eventually expand beyond just Spotlight recommendations into other parts of the app. For now, though, the move adds to a growing pattern across social media. Platforms increasingly appear to be prioritising authentic, human-made content over mass-produced material flooding user feeds every day.

It took less than a day for Google’s newest AI experiment to become a lesson in how fast image-based misinformation can spread. On Thursday, Google rolled out its Nano Banana 2 model directly inside Google Earth. The feature allowed users to type any prompt and get back a photorealistic image, layered right onto real satellite, aerial, and 3D map data. The intended uses were fairly harmless. People could visualize their dream home or picture how a location might change decades from now. Within just a few hours, users pushed the tool in a very different direction. People began generating fake disasters, staged terrorist attacks, and fabricated sinkholes. Others created images showing refugees or protest crowds in places where nothing of the sort had actually happened. One researcher used the tool to create a fake blast crater in Los Angeles. Another generated an image showing protesters marching right outside Google’s California headquarters. Since the tool used real Google Earth maps as its foundation, these fabricated images looked disturbingly convincing. At first, Google defended the feature. The company pointed to its SynthID watermarking system as a safeguard. It also noted that tools like Gemini or Google Lens could help users check whether an image had been AI-generated. That response did not satisfy critics. Many pointed out that most people encountering a screenshot online rarely take the time to verify it. Critics also argued that the fake images did not even need to stay inside Google Earth to cause harm. Screenshots alone were already spreading fast across social media platforms. By Friday, Google confirmed it was pulling the feature entirely while working on stronger safeguards. The company maintained that every generated image had carried a watermark. It also said none of the images had appeared within the shared, public version of the Earth experience. This incident has reignited larger concerns around generative AI tools and how easily they can be misused, even when protective measures are already built in. It also raises fresh questions about whether watermarking alone is enough to stop confusion once fabricated content starts spreading widely online. For now, Google says its focus is on rebuilding the feature with tighter controls in place. Whether that will be enough to prevent similar situations going forward still remains to be seen.

A government-commissioned report that helped support Australia’s plan to restrict social media access for children under 16 has come under scrutiny after several inaccurate and apparently fabricated academic references were identified. The report, produced as part of a $3.48 million government-funded trial examining age-assurance technologies, was prepared by the Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS). The organisation has acknowledged that ChatGPT was used to rewrite parts of the document after initially denying that artificial intelligence had been involved. An analysis of the report found six problematic citations in a chapter examining emerging technologies. Some of the digital object identifiers, or DOIs, reportedly directed readers to research papers that did not exist. Other references contained combinations of authors, journals and publication dates that could not be verified in academic records. In another case, a DOI reportedly led to a genuine research paper, but the paper did not support the claim attributed to it in the report. The controversy intensified after ACCS was questioned about the use of artificial intelligence. A spokesperson initially said no AI had been used in producing the report. The organisation later acknowledged that ChatGPT metadata was present in four links across two sections of the document. ACCS maintained that the metadata effectively disclosed the use of the tool and said the references had been manually checked. However, efforts to correct the disputed citations reportedly resulted in further inconsistencies. One example involved a research paper that an ACCS source said had been accessed in March 2025. According to the paper’s lead author, however, the research was not published until June 2025, raising additional questions about the accuracy of the report’s references. The report has attracted attention because it was used in the policy process surrounding Australia’s planned restrictions on social media for under-16s. Communications Minister Anika Wells had previously praised the report for identifying potential approaches to age verification. The minister’s department told a Senate inquiry that it had discussed the citation problems with ACCS. However, the department was reportedly informed about faulty links rather than allegations that some references had been fabricated. Australian National University academic Christian Downie warned that unreliable references can have serious consequences regardless of whether they were generated by AI or resulted from human error. He said inaccurate citations could contribute to poor policymaking and weaken public confidence in government-commissioned research. Independent Senator Fatima Payman also compared the controversy with a separate case involving Deloitte, which refunded part of a $440,000 government contract after problems were identified with AI-generated references.