Meta revenue figures better than expected, Europeans fleeing X in droves

Meta reported earnings on Wednesday, beating Wall Street’s expectations for yet another quarter even as it lavishes billions on artificial intelligence. Meta posted $42.32bn in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, beating both its own quarterly revenue goals of $41.8bn at the higher end and Wall Street expectations of $41.38bn. The company also reported $6.43 in earnings per share, beating Wall Street projections of $5.27. Shares jumped in after-hours trading. “We’ve had a strong start to an important year, our community continues to grow and our business is performing very well,” said Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg. The Guardian

Europeans are fleeing X en masse, according to a new report from Elon Musk’s social media platform. The latest figures from X published this week — which it was required to release to comply with the European Union’s flagship tech rulebook, the Digital Services Act — show a sharp decline in the number of users in Europe. Since August last year, the platform has lost 11 million European users, with the biggest exoduses reported in France (2.7 million), Poland (1.8 million) and Germany (1.3 million). Politico 

A car-sized piece of Soviet rocket is expected to come crashing back down to Earth in the coming days, after 53 years in orbit.  “It’s a half-tonne thing falling out of the sky at a couple of hundred miles an hour. That’s going to hurt if it hits you,” said one astronomer to Sky News. Cosmos 482 was destined to land on Venus after being launched from the USSR’s spaceport in what is now Kazakhstan in 1972. Instead, the upper stage of the rocket, which was responsible for powering it out of orbit, failed. Sky News 

Tesla has denied reports that it has contacted recruitment firms to launch a search for a replacement for Elon Musk as chief executive. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the electric car firm’s board began looking for a successor to Mr Musk last month. It said this was because of frustration around Mr Musk’s focus on his job in US President Donald Trump‘s administration and Tesla’s sinking share price. However, in statement on Thursday, Tesla said the report was “absolutely false” while Mr Musk wrote on his social media platform X that the paper was “a discredit to journalism”. BBC

Arguably Apple’s most popular product after the iPhone, the AirPods Pro have long set the standard for wireless earbuds. Last year, Apple introduced the AirPods 4 and a new variant with active noise cancellation, bringing ANC to its more affordable earbuds for the very first time. But with rumours suggesting a redesign for both the earbuds and the charging case, as well as new health-tracking features, the AirPods Pro 3 could be Apple’s best earbuds yet.  While Apple hasn’t officially confirmed the AirPods Pro 3, all signs point to a release later this year. Independent 

The Pixel 9a comes pre-installed with Android 15. As a Google-made device, it’s among the first to receive Android updates. One of the standout perks of owning a Pixel is that updates roll out simultaneously across the lineup-unlike other Android brands where budget models often lag behind. That means the Pixel 9a will receive the same updates at the same time as the flagship Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Plus, Google has committed to providing seven years of software updates for the Pixel 9a starting from launch.

The software experience on the Pixel 9a is exactly what you’d expect from a Google phone. It offers a clean, minimalist interface that aligns closely with what’s often referred to as “stock Android.” GSM Arena