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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 Apple's brand-new low-cost MacBook, Mozilla's plan to redesign Firefox, a wild phishing plot, and a Florida woman being jailed for a massive Windows activation fraud. Let's get started.
Major Firefox redesign
Image via Söeren Hentzschel
Mozilla wants you to keep your hopes high for a major Firefox redesign on the cards, codenamed "Nova." For starters, it will feature strong curves that aggressively round off the tabs and the address bar, pastel colors, a revamped new tab page, floating UI elements, and more. Before Nova, Firefox Proton was a major update that removed visual clutter and simplified menus back in June 2021.
In more browser news, you should get ready for more Chrome updates, as Google has moved to a tighter release schedule. The search giant used to follow a four-week schedule for Chrome updates, but it will release Chrome updates every two weeks, starting in September.
A wild phishing plot
Image by Flutie8211 via Pixabay
You might have seen phishing attacks based on compromised security systems, zero-day bugs, and anything else when you hear the word hacking. In the latest attempt, bad actors devised a clever approach to infiltrate enterprise computers using legitimate software.
The attackers use an abused Extended Validation (EV) certificate to digitally sign malicious files, according to security experts. These files were then sent to the target via emails containing fake meeting invites, prompting them to download malware-infected versions of popular apps such as Teams, Meet, Zoom, and Adobe Reader.
Humans are uselessMost of us live with the fear that AI will take away our jobs. In reality, that might just be an abstract concept of what might happen in the future. Enter Lenovo, whose latest AI ads campaign feels like a direct jab at humanity. It appears to portray humans as inferior to AI, outright incapable of doing meaningful work, and clueless about what happens right in front of them.
In other news, Lenovo showcased its refreshed Yoga lineup at the MWC 2026, featuring better screens and more AI features. Its wildest MWC concepts also include a foldable gaming PC (Yoga Book Pro 3D Concept) and an AI desk clock.
Florida woman jailed
It's not surprising when we hear about someone trying to use Windows without a key. However, a Florida woman took things to the next level and got indicted over a massive fraud involving thousands of "Genuine" Windows and Office labels that often contain product activation keys.
The 52-year-old resident of Brandon has been sentenced to 22 months in federal prison and fined $50,000 for being guilty of trafficking in illicit Microsoft certificate of authenticity (COA) labels.
Drone strikes hit data centers
Image via DepositPhotos.com
Recent drone strikes on the UAE and Bahrain damaged three Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers, highlighting the physical vulnerability of the cloud. Amazon warned that its cloud operations in the Middle East are now unpredictable. The damage affected critical services, including EC2, S3, and DynamoDB, leaving customers with a choice of moving data to a distant server, which would incur higher latency.
Amazon ran into another problem as people started facing issues on its e-commerce platform, including being unable to check listings or order history and login problems. The company reached out to Neowin to clarify that the issues on the Amazon shopping site are unrelated to the previous AWS issues, adding that it's working to resolve them.
New Apple devices
Apple had a big week this month, refreshing several of its devices and launching the new MacBook Neo at $599. It's now the cheapest MacBook in Apple's lineup, and the cost-cutting the company did is quite evident, as there is no MagSafe charging to say the least. Read our detailed Specs Appeal post to know how the MacBook Neo compares against the MacBook Air.
The Cupertino giant launched refreshed versions of its products, including the iPhone 17e, M4 iPad Air, M5 MacBook Air, MacBook Pro with M5 Pro/Max, Studio Display, and the Studio Display XDR to succeed the Pro Display XDR. These devices, available for pre-order, will go on sale from March 11.
Download the official Apple wallpapers
Just like every time, someone took the pain of extracting and upscaling the official iPhone 17e wallpapers. You can download them in three different colors. If you're looking for more custom stuff, Apple also released the Year of the Horse wallpapers a while ago.
The things you can't see with Meta glasses
Meta isn't the name you remember for having the best privacy practices. It was reported that subcontractors in Africa (who review content after signing confidentiality agreements) were able to see sensitive content being filmed by the company's smart glasses. This prompted the UK's data regulator, the ICO, to write to Meta to express its concerns about the reports, insisting that the company clearly explain its data collection process.
TikTok doesn't want E2EE
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) has become a standard feature across messaging apps. But TikTok is taking a different path, stating that it won't implement E2EE for direct messages. While TikTok still supports standard encryption, it wants to have room for authorized employees and law enforcement to access messages if a user reports harmful behavior or if a valid legal request is made.
Unlock your home with Galaxy
Samsung announced that its Wallet app now supports Digital Home Key, allowing compatible Galaxy smartphones to unlock the front door. The feature is based on the Aliro standard released by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) in 2023 to establish a common language between the readers from different brands and mobile devices, which otherwise exist in a fragmented market.
Motorola x GrapheneOS
Motorola wants to "strengthen smartphone security" by entering a multi-year partnership with GrapheneOS Foundation. The Lenovo-owned company plans to design future devices compatible with GrapheneOS, working together on joint research, software, and security, especially on mobile platforms.
New features in Telegram
Telegram's latest feature update brings a new useful feature to improve privacy in individual chats, group chats, GIFs, voting, and more. If you're a Telegram Premium user, you can restrict sharing in private chats, in addition to groups and channels. Among other changes, you can add custom tags next to your name in a group to showcase a role or some other information.
Audible gets cheaper
You might be having a good time listening to audiobooks on Audible, but the $14.99/mo Premium subscription might pinch on some days. You might only get through one bestseller a month. Amazon realized this and launched a new $8.99/mo Standard plan in select countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany. However, it comes with tighter restrictions.
Can AI play Xbox games?
AI can do a lot of things for you. But Microsoft thinks it should play Xbox games too. A newly discovered patent shows Microsoft is exploring the idea of using a cloud-powered AI helper to step in and finish Xbox games when you get stuck. The patent, titled "State Management for Video Game Help Sessions," describes a feature where players can request a "helper" to temporarily take complete control of their Xbox gaming session.
Speaking of Xbox, we got to see the first official teaser for the next-generation console, "Project Helix," with PC game support. It will be the successor to the current Xbox Series X|S consoles; however, exact details about the unreleased console are yet to be revealed. Microsoft is expected to discuss it further at the Game Developer Conference (GDC).
Shame Shame
If you get annoyed by sloppy, battery-wasting apps, Google has come up with a solution. It has been rolling out wake lock technical quality treatments to improve the battery drain situation for impacted apps. It will shame developers with apps that significantly drain your device's battery through warnings on Google Play and the visibility of such apps might get affected.
Google brings cinematic overviews
NotebookLM got a major add-on in the form of Cinematic Video Overviews, which makes AI-generated overviews sound more immersive. The feature is available to Google AI Ultra subscribers on the web and mobile.
The search giant also announced its Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite model for high volume developer workloads. It's the most cost-efficient and the fastest AI model in the Gemini 3 series, available in preview via Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI for enterprises.
Major changes for Android
Google's long-standing battle with Epic Games finally reached some settlement, pushing the company to open up the Android ecosystem. In other words, Google will allow developers to use their own billing systems in their apps and games and it also reduced the fee charged from developers distributing apps and games via Google Play.
Turn Android into a desktop
If you remember Microsoft Continuum, you might agree that it was essentially the right project at the wrong time. Almost a decade later, Google is continuing its legacy on Android with its "new connected display support feature." With Android 16 QPR3, connecting a supported Android device to a monitor will open a full desktop session with a taskbar and resizable windows.
Microsoft recently announced that it will end all security updates and technical support for Defender on Android 10. Enterprises now have three weeks to upgrade their devices to a newer version before the Redmond giant pulls the plug.
New Silicon
Intel thinks its latest silicon can help major telecom companies adopt the upcoming 6G networks. It previewed the Xeon 6+ server chip, built on Intel 18A process, which promises higher core density, low power consumption, and aggressive workload scaling compared to Xeon 6. Intel cited multiple examples of telecom operators using Xeon CPUs to accelerate their OpenRAN development.
AMD unveiled its Ryzen AI 400 series for desktop configurations and shared details around performance and specifications. The leader of the pack is the Ryzen AI 7 450G with eight cores and 16 threads.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm is targeting the premium wearable market with its new Snapdragon Wear Elite Platform, which will support Wear OS, Android, and Linux. Qualcomm says Snapdragon Wear Elite delivers 30% longer battery life despite the jump in performance.
NVIDIA can't drive
The chipmaker is having a hard time with its drivers. It re-released driver version 595.71 to fix broken fan controls, only to realize it had caused severe performance drops for some users. This resulted in performance drops of up to 16% for some users, due to severe voltage throttling and reduced core clock speeds. NVIDIA then released a new hotfix over the week to address the crippled GPU clocks and other bugs.
Power gains for Linux
Image via Larry Ewing
Linux is about to get some big performance gains from a native feature. A developer, contributing to .NET, confirmed a performance upgrade for Linux .NET sockets in the runtime as they are being reworked to use the kernel's own 'io_uring' API.
The development of Linux 7.0 is off to a volatile start, and Linus Torvalds noted that the second RC of Linux 7.0 is significantly larger than typical RC2 milestones. Torvalds in not happy about it and attributed the bigger release to "random timing noise." The latest kernel update has shifted focus from drivers to high-risk core filesystem and networking changes.
A fresh paint
Discussing its recent work, the Linux Mint team said it's bringing a new Cinnamon screensaver. Cinnamon now locks the screen on its own using its own toolkit and widgets, rather than relying on a separate program, offering full compatibility with Wayland.
We are better than Microsoft Office
LibreOffice fired back at critics who prefer Microsoft Office for its ribbon interface. It said that its UI is better than Office and that the ribbon can't be regarded as a standard, "nor a good example of ergonomics". There is no evidence that the ribbon offers "superior usability," especially for experienced users, according to LibreOffice.
Less cringy OpenAI model
Amid the ongoing backlash over its Pentagon deal, OpenAI released the new GPT-5.3 Instant model, which is "less cringe" than its predecessors. It's now more natural, provides less dramatic responses, and reduces the unnecessary refusals to users' questions.
It also announced GPT 5.4, its most powerful frontier model, advancing reasoning, coding, and agentic workflows previously seen in the Codex series. It's available in ChatGPT as GPT 5.4 Thinking and GPT 5.4 Pro. That said, here's some more OpenAI news from the week:
Running AI models on your phone
Image via Hugging Models
While cloud-powered AI models continue to flex their muscles, curious minds are exploring on-device models that can even run on your smartphone. One such model is the Qwen 3.5-2B that can easily run on Android and iPhone for free. However, it doesn't mean you should unless you're doing it for fun or as an enthusiast. It's best suited for low-complexity tasks like chat sessions, and setting it up is no cakewalk, not to mention the toll it takes on your phone's battery life.
Anthropic hits back at DoD
As the drama continues over Anthropic getting labeled a "supply chain risk," meaning all federal agencies will stop using Anthropic technology. Interestingly, it has become the first domestic company in US history to get that status.
Its CEO, Dario Amodei, released a new statement confirming the government's move. However, Anthropic believes the decision is not legally sound, and it will take the Department of Defense to court.
What happened at Microsoft this week
For those wondering what happened under the Redmond giant's roof this week, Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 are still seemingly breaking the internet, Windows 11 is getting useful audio improvements, and a furious user called Microsoft "idiot" for allegedly automatically upgrading their Windows PC.
Some beautiful Windows 11 wallpapers surfaced this week with a touch of nostalgia but those claims of Windows 12 coming this year turned out to be fake. You can check out Taras's freshly baked Microsoft Weekly roundup to catch up on all the interesting stories this week.
Our features
This week, Usama discussed how a small but useful change in Microsoft Teams made a big difference for remote work. Teams now has a three-bar system to display each participant's network strength in a meeting. If someone has low strength, Microsoft will suggest ways to mitigate issues and improve call quality. It also helps people figure out whose network is causing those jittery Teams calls.
Another editorial published over the week highlights how AI features in Microsoft 365 are insanely expensive for consumers. For starters, the Redmond giant sets you back by $129/year for its Family plan, with limited AI credits that only the subscription owner can use, and then it asks you to pay an additional $70 if you want the full set of AI capabilities with higher usage limits.
Sony is shifting gears
It's been six years since Sony began porting its console-exclusive games to PC, starting with Horizon Zero Dawn and eventually major titles such as Spider-Man, God of War, and The Last of Us. However, it's now being reported that Sony is not satisfied with the sales numbers for PC.
There are people at Sony who think the multiplatform business will damage the PlayStation brand. Sony had recently pulled the plug on its plans to bring the most recent first-party developed single-player games to PC, including Ghost of Yotei and Saros. It's expected that this change will trickle down to Insomniac's Wolverine and Naughty Dog's Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Clip games hands-free
Microsoft is updating the ROG Xbox Ally handheld devices from 2025 with new features. Highlight Reels is one of them to automatically capture clips from games for sharing without opening any panels or pressing any shortcuts during gameplay. The feature is now entering the public testing phase. It's unclear if it will arrive on more devices, including the standard Xbox Ally, Windows PCs, and laptops.
What else in gaming?
The latest issue of Pulasthi's Weekly PC Game Deals curates a number of multiplayer games on sale this week. You can grab the humorous rogue-lite action game Turnip Boy Robs a Bank as a freebie on the Epic Games Store. Xbox Free Plays is giving you the chance of trying out new titles, including Call of Duty Black Ops 7 and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.
GeForce NOW has added support for 15 more games in March, such as Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered, Esoteric Ebb, Slay the Spire 2, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, Crimson Desert, and more. If you're a racing fan with Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft announced that EA Sports F1 25 is coming to EA Play.
That said, here are some more stories from the gaming world:
From the review corner
Steven got his hands on the Intel-powered NucBox K15 from GMTec, which comes with a few surprises to make it a worthy contender in the saturated mini PC market. The device comes with an Intel Core Ultra 5, up to 32GB RAM, a USB 4 port with 100W power delivery, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, and an OCulink port to connect a dGPU.
You can get in a barebone configuration with no OS, memory, or SSD. But a possible downside could be the PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD onboard on the pricier variants, just one USB 4 port, being a bit on the pricier side, thanks to AI features.
GameSir G7 Pro Zenless Zone Zero
GameSir sent a review unit of the refreshed G7 Pro Zenless Zone Zero controller to Taras, which comes with a total of five sets of sticks to choose from, and to compensate for the price tag. The controller has impressive specs with a 1000Hz polling rate, motion controls, a 3.5 mm audio jack, Hall Effect sticks and triggers, trigger locks, customizable rear buttons, and more. But it cheaps out on the bundled cable, which is a regular Type-A USB made of hard plastic and inferior to the one with the Wuhang edition.
Planet of Lana II
Pulasthi also published his detailed review of Planet of Lana II, the sequel to the puzzle platformer that moves the story forward and expands on almost everything the original offered. For a $19.99 asking price, it features beautiful environments that almost pop off the screen, carefully controlled puzzles, great sound design, and masterfully animated characters who use gibberish to express emotions. However, the game's length could be a turn-off for some.
More price drops!We got you covered with some hot tech deals all week. For some reason, if you missed out on a great discount, here is a summary of some recent deals that are still alive:
To view all of our recent deals, click here.
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!
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