7 Days: Firefox 'Nova' redesign, free unlimited AI ride is ending, warning from Torvalds

A week of Google I/O announcements, limitations on AI, Xbox controller expansion port gone, and Apple Design Awards.

7 Days is a weekly roundup of picks of what's been happening in the world of technology - written with a dash of humor, a hint of exasperation, and an endless supply of (black) coffee.

This week's highlights include Mozilla's Nova redesign being confirmed, the LibreOffice maker taking a dig at Microsoft, a warning from Linus Torvalds, the Xbox controller ditching its expansion port, and more. Let's get started.

You can check out the recent issues of the 7 Days weekly roundup here.

Mozilla "Nova" redesign

Building on reports from earlier this year, Mozilla finally confirmed the "Nova" redesign for Firefox, bringing faster performance, improved privacy tools, cleaner visuals, customization, accessibility improvements, and more. Expected to roll out later this year, you can try the Firefox Nova design by downloading the latest nightly versions.

Firefox's Shake to Summarize feature is now available on Android, letting users generate a clean summary of website articles by sending data to cloud servers. Firefox 151.01 comes with fixes for Raptor Lake crash bugs linked to Intel CPU microcode and faulty memory operations.

In other browser news:

Vivaldi 8.0 arrives: The latest Vivaldi 8.0 update is a big one, bringing a design upgrade, which its developers called "the most significant design overhaul." It makes each user element, such as tabs, toolbars, panels, and content, exist as part of a single, unbounded design.

Copilot agentic: The latest preview of Edge for Business encourages agentic adoption by allowing Copilot to automate multi-step browser tasks securely under strict IT-managed enterprise controls.

Free AI ride is ending

The days of using unlimited free AI are coming to an end as Google and other rivals slam the door shut. They are pushing strict usage limits because running AI models in the cloud isn't cheap, and investors demand profits.

Google Gemini is the latest one to make a move, and now it's possible to exhaust the limits even if you're a paid subscriber. Thankfully, Gemini's pro model refreshes every 5 hours, but the chatbot might switch to underpowered models if it detects that too many people are using Gemini at the same time.

Is binge-watching good for us?

You might be questioning yourself after spending the entire Sunday night finishing that series, but science looks at it differently. A new study suggests that binge-watching (watching many episodes of a TV series in one sitting or over a short period) can strengthen memory, imagination, emotional engagement with stories, and help people cope with daily stress through deeper narrative involvement.

This is "absurd"

The Document Foundation (TDF), which maintains LibreOffice, penned a lengthy blog post to bash Microsoft over its use of the OOXML format in Office documents, stating that it's only "open" on paper. The developer also took a dig at Microsoft's handling of dates with OOXML, particularly in Excel. Calling it "absurd," TDF said that Excel identifies the year 1900 as a leap year, and when it "gets dates wrong, no other software does it worse."

YouTube and TikTok on notice

The UK's regulator Ofcom has tightened its grip even further to protect children on social platforms, while accusing YouTube and TikTok of failing to meet the required child-safety standards. The watchdog plans to conduct an independent safety audit to examine how content detection and moderation systems, algorithms, and age-verification systems used by social media platforms operate.

The UK government is also taking action against VPN services to ensure child safety by putting them behind age checks. Mozilla and several other entities warned that its proposed age-gating rules will strip vital online privacy and safety tools away from children.

Warning from Torvalds

The use of AI tools in the development of the Linux kernel is slowly becoming a part and parcel of it. However, with the debut of Linux 7.1 RC4, Linus Torvalds warned about a chaotic flood of duplicate AI reports clogging security channels. While the Linux creator isn't against using AI tools, it's possible that different people can find the same bug and report it. The developers must read relevant documentation and add value by figuring out how to fix it.

Our Features

Our coffee-powered team published a platter of editorials, opinion posts, and guides. Check them out:

• This ultra-lightweight Linux OS just saved my Windows 10 laptop from the scrapheap
• The real reason everyone stays on Chrome despite its terrible privacy track record
• Governments are ruining the internet to protect kids, but there is a much better way
• Here is how to remap the Copilot key in Windows 11, without Microsoft's upcoming "fix"
• I never knew Windows had a "hidden" collection of tools

This week in software news

Catch up on some of the latest software news updates that arrived throughout the week:

Unraid (without USB boot): The NAS operating system got a fresh update in the form of Unraid 7.3.0. It addresses a major pain point by ditching USB sticks as the only way to boot the OS, enabling direct booting from internal drives. You can set up a mirrored boot pool to ensure your server still boots if one drive fails.

DeskScapes 2026: The latest version of the personalization app makes it easy to create, restyle, and upscale images in just a few clicks. You can create wallpapers on your device without relying on a cloud server or worrying about tokens or hidden costs.

Long time no see: AMD released new drivers for Polaris and Vega GPUs after a long time. The changelog states that the driver includes bug fixes to address a crash affecting Apex Legends players using Radeon RX 400 and RX 500 series graphics cards.

New chipset drivers: AMD also pushed a new chipset driver for supported motherboards with Windows 11/10. Version 8.05.01.516 is now available for download with bug fixes and support for the Ryzen AI 400 processors.

This week in hardware news

Catch up on some of the latest software news updates that arrived throughout the week:

Xbox expansion port gone: Those who bought the limited-edition Forza Horizon 6-themed wireless controller will notice that the gamepad no longer has the expansion port, which was located beside the headphone jack. It has been replaced with a dummy rectangle, but Microsoft hasn't officially confirmed its removal.

1000Hz native monitor: LG announced the world's first gaming monitor with a native 1000Hz refresh rate. The 24.5-inch UltraGear 25G590B is aimed at competitive esports players and similar fast-paced environments; it's expected to launch in select markets later this year.

Galaxy S27 display supplier: It's strange to read this, but BOE might replace Samsung Display as the supplier for Galaxy S27. That's because BOE is reportedly offering its panels at $5 a piece, which is lower than Samsung's in-house company.

New Surface PCs: Microsoft launched two new laptops and a tablet to expand its business devices catalog. Powered by the latest Core Ultra 300 Series processors, the new devices include the Surface Pro for Business 13-inch, the Surface Laptop for Business 13.8-inch and 15-inch, and the Surface Laptop for Business 13-inch.

Ryzen AI Halo: AMD unveiled the new Ryzen AI Max+ 400 PRO series APUs to succeed the Max PRO 300 series. Its freshly baked $3,999 Ryzen AI Halo local AI processing hub is based on the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, and will get support for Ryzen Max+ PRO 495 once it becomes available in Q3, 2026.

This week in Google News

Catch up on some of the latest Google news updates that arrived throughout the week:

Google I/O 2026: The search giant's biggest event of the year happened this week, bringing a ton of new products and updates. For starters, CEO Sundar Pichai shared impressive numbers, stating that Gemini has surpassed 900 million users and that 13 Google products have more than 1 billion users. A new experimental Google Beam feature transforms regular users into their true-to-life size during video calls.

New design language and models: Google released the Neural Expressive design language for Gemini, along with Gemini 3.5 Flash, and the Gemini Omni Flash model. It ended virtually unlimited Gemini access by putting toll gates; you need to stick to current usage limits that reset every five hours and a weekly usage cap.

New YouTube features: The video-sharing platform has a new AI assistant called Ask YouTube, which can take questions in natural language to find relevant videos. You can also use the Gemini Omni Flash model to remix your YouTube Shorts for free.

This week in Apple News

Catch up on some of the latest Apple news updates that arrived throughout the week:

Apple Design Awards 2026: Apple recognizes outstanding apps on the App Store every year, ahead of the WWDC event. This year, Apple announced a list of 36 apps and games it picked as finalists for the award ceremony, and the winners will be announced soon.

Dark clouds over iPhone Fold: The iPhone maker is almost a decade behind Samsung when it comes to foldable smartphones. This year might be no different, as reports suggest Apple is struggling with the iPhone Fold's hinge design. The device was expected to launch in September this year, but the issues could delay it.

WWDC 2026: Apple shared the official lineup for the developer conference, stating that the official keynote will begin at 10 am PT on June 8. It has invited over 1,000 developers, designers, and students to Apple Park, as well as 50 Distinguished Winners from the Swift Students Challenge.

$2.2 billion saved: Apple also shared App Store safety stats this week, stating it saved a total of $11.2 billion in fraudulent transactions over the last six years. Among other numbers, it blocked more than 1.1 billion fraudulent account creations.

This week in AI news

Catch up on the latest artificial intelligence news updates that arrived throughout the week:

OpenAI wants an IPO: The ChatGPT-maker has dreamed of filing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for over a year now. It was reported that OpenAI could file for an IPO as early as this week, but that didn't happen at the time of writing this issue of 7 Days. The AI tech giant is valued at $850 billion.

Spotify vs. AI slop: The streaming giant launched verified podcast badges and strengthened anti-impersonation rules to improve trust and tackle AI misuse. While noting the benefits of AI for creators, Spotify warns that it can be misused to imitate creators or mislead audiences.

Alexa Podcasts: On the flip side, Amazon released a new feature for Alexa+ that allows the AI chatbot to generate an entire podcast episode on any topic you want, complete with AI-generated host voices.

Andrej Karpathy joins Anthropic: One of the people who laid the foundation for OpenAI now works at Anthropic. The OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy is among the most influential researchers in modern AI. After his initial stint at OpenAI, Karpathy worked at Tesla as the Director of AI.

This week in Microsoft news

Microsoft Teams is getting a major redesign, with a cleaner meeting toolbar, redesigned share pane, and more. A new File Explorer concept is gaining traction for its approach to rethinking familiar workflows, drawing on ideas Microsoft never implemented.

You can check out Taras's freshly baked Microsoft Weekly roundup to catch up on all the interesting stories this week.

This week in science news

Catch up on some of the latest science and out-of-this-world updates that arrived throughout the week:

Biggest thing in our universe: Scientists recently discovered the largest reliably measured superstructure in the universe, named "Quipu." It's a massive web of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and dark matter, spanning 1.4 billion light-years, linked together by gravity.

How will aliens find us?: If you have been thinking about it, a new study found that Earth's deep-space signals cluster new planetary alignments, improving extraterrestrial detection chances significantly. Extraterrestrial species watching us might have a high chance of intercepting our deep-space transmissions during alignments between Earth and Mars.

The mystery of the Sun: An old solar mystery was solved after twisted magnetic waves were discovered inside the outer atmosphere of the Sun. These waves explain why this layer is hotter than the visible surface.

Breaking assumptions: A new study shows that the universe might not be as perfectly balanced as scientists once thought. Instead of looking the same in every direction, the universe could be lopsided, challenging what scientists have long believed.

This week in gaming news

Catch up on some of the latest gaming and virtual world updates that arrived throughout the week:

PlayStation: Sony slapped a PlayStation Plus price hike on new and returning subscribers in multiple regions due to "ongoing marketing conditions," with one-month plan now costing $1 extra. Changes in Sony's strategy will hold back its single-player narrative games from being ported to PC going forward. The company also announced a big PlayStation showcase for June, which will run for over an hour.

Steam tags update: The latest update added 17 new tags, removed 28, and modified a few others. The list includes Bullet Heaven, Desktop Companion, Organizing, Cleaning, Decorating, and more.

Xbox leadership changes: The gaming division appointed Matthew Ball as Chief Strategy Officer and Scott Van Vliet as Chief Technology Officer. CEO Asha Sharma said these changes are designed to strengthen the division's foundation by providing greater clarity and improving execution.

New Xbox feedback hub: Microsoft unveiled a new feedback hub for Xbox fans that promises clearer updates. The Redmond giant will monitor the new Xbox Player Voice feedback to give direct updates to players on their requests.

Forza Horizon 6: Playground Games pushed updates to fix AI drivers that exhibit unfair behavior and to address framerate issues on PCs with AMD GPUs. For PS5 users, the racing title will arrive later this year. Forza Horizon 6 is now available on Xbox Game Pass, alongside Jurassic World Evolution 3 and other new titles.

What else in gaming?

The latest issue of Pulasthi's Weekend PC Game Deals curates several exciting games on sale this week. Epic Games Store's latest mystery giveaway brings Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft bundle as well as a copy of Down in Bermuda.

The latest Xbox Free Play Days bring five Warhammer games to the table this time. A new update to GeForce NOW brings support for Forza Horizon 6, Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core, as well as the new IO Interactive adventure, 007 First Light.

That said, here are some more stories from the gaming world:

• Ubisoft delivers a Rainbow Six Vegas-inspired map to Siege alongside a major ranked rework
• Lord of the Rings RPG in development at Kingdom Come Deliverance studio
• Fallout 4 console mods get a huge storage boost, up to 100GB on Xbox Series X|S
• Bungie is pulling the plug on Destiny 2, final update lands next month
• Helldivers 2 is getting new upscaling tech on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation next week
• Bungie is reportedly facing major layoffs under Sony, and no new projects have been greenlit

From the review corner

Steven got his hands on the mid-ranger HONOR 600, which is powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 and offers strong performance for AI tasks. The device offers impressive build quality for the price, a solid unibody design, a good 200MP camera, and software improvements. On the other hand, the chipset is too weak for gaming, and the device doesn't support Qi wireless charging.

BOOX Go Gen 2 Lumi

It's a 10-inch E-Ink device that can double up as a Swiss knife of note-taking and a nearly full-blown Android tablet. BOOX Go Gen 2 Lumi comes with a Snapdragon 690, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.1. Taras said in his detailed review that the device is insanely thin, well-built, has surprisingly good speakers, and offers a great handwriting experience. However, its metal stylus can easily scratch the chassis, and it doesn't have wireless charging, an ambient light sensor, or front light scheduling.

GEEKOM A9 Max 2026 Edition

Steven revisited the GEEKOM A9 Max 2026 Edition mini PC after fitting it with a second 32GB memory stick to unlock the device's true potential by making the setup dual-channel. Updated benchmarks performed significantly better across the board, delivering major gains compared to single-channel 32GB memory. Points get cut for GEEKOM for not offering dual-channel memory in the box.

You can also check out Pulasthi's hands-on experience of the Corsiar Cove preview, which is a pirate city builder that impresses with its vertical scale and logistics.

So, these were some of the biggest tech news and other updates from this week. There will be more issues of our 7 Days series in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned. You can also support Neowin by registering for a free member account or subscribing to extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option.

Have a great weekend!

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Monday 25 May 2026 at 8:33 am AEST (my time).

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