March 14 Tech news roundup: YouTube TV is getting unskippable 30-second ads, Apple launches affordable MacBook Neo, Amazon Prime Video launches new plan

Copilot is coming to Xbox consoles this year

Microsoft is bringing its Copilot AI to its consoles this year, whether you like using it or not. Sonali Yadav, Product Manager for Xbox Gaming AI announced that Gaming Copilot is coming to current Xbox consoles. Games Radar reports that this likely means the AI will be supported on Xbox Series X/S. The chatbot will allow players to ask questions about the game they are playing, tips to improve their strategy, or ask for game recommendations, etc. It is worth noting that Gaming Copilot is already available in beta on Windows 11, the Xbox mobile app, and ROG Xbox Ally handhelds.

Gamers have expressed concerned about the direction in which Xbox is heading following the departures of Xbox chief, Phil Spencer, and president, Sarah Bond. Xbox is now being headed by Asha Sharma, who was Microsoft’s head of AI development for enterprise. But things look interesting. Xbox’s next big product is Project Helix, which will allow users to play games from their Xbox and PC on the same device.

Mozilla extends support for Firefox on Windows 7 and 8 until August 2026

Last month, Mozilla had announced that it would no longer provide updates for Firefox for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. This meant that Firefox 115 ESR would be the last version that worked on older computers, and users would have to upgrade to a newer operating system to continue receiving security updates. This could be a problem for users who are using very old computers, which may not support modern operating systems. However, it seems that Mozilla’s plans have changed, as it has now extended support for the legacy operating systems by a further 6 months. Firefox ESR 115 on Windows 7 and 8 will continue to receive support until August 2026.

But, it’s not just for Windows, Mozilla has also extended support for Firefox on macOS 10.12 to 10.14 until August 2026. Mozilla says that it will re-evaluate the decision to extend support for older versions of Windows and macOS in July. This means there is a chance that Firefox ESR could continue to be supported beyond August. This is pretty cool, because Mozilla is the only browser maker to still support older operating systems, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and others ended support for Windows 7, 8 many years ago.

Apple launches MacBook Neo, an affordable laptop

Apple has introduced a new MacBook, called the MacBook Neo. What’s interesting about it is its affordable price tag of just $599. The Neo is powered by an iPhone chip, specifically the Apple A18 Pro hexa-core CPU with 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, a 5-core GPU, and a 16-core neural engine. It supports hardware‑accelerated ray tracing. The laptop has 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, runs on the latest version of macOS, and supports Apple Intelligence.

Apple has equipped the MacBook Neo with a 13-inch LED IPS Liquid Retina display, that supports 2408×1506 pixels resolution, 219 PPI, sRGB, and 500 nits brightness. The Cupertino company says that the laptop’s 36.5 watt hour lithium-ion battery is capable of delivering up to 16 hours of video streaming, or up to 11 hours of web browsing on a single charge. It can be charged via a USB C port. Speaking of which, the MacBook Neo has two USB C ports, one of which is USB 3 and supports DisplayPort, up to 10GB/s,, while the other is a USB 2 port that supports up to 480 Mb/s. The device has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, supports Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6. Apple’s MacBook Neo weighs about 1.23kg or 2.7 pounds, and is just 0.50 inches thick.

The MacBook Neo has drawn praise from reviewers who seem to be generally pleased with the price to performance ratio. In a rare win for Apple, the device has also managed to impress repair groups like iFixit, who have termed the Neo as the most repairable MacBook in over a decade. This should be good news for those who prefer to upgrade their laptop manually, including schools, and other organizations that rely on long term usage for their devices. The Neo’s price tag could help provide some serious competition to Windows laptops and Chromebooks.

Amazon Prime Video ad-free plan price hiked

Amazon is set to increase the price of its ad-free Prime Video plan next month. Up until now, users could pay an extra $2.99 for an ad-free experience on Amazon Price, and requires a subscription to the streaming service. The Verge reports that the ad-free tier will be rebranded as Amazon Prime Video Ultra, and will cost $4.99 per month, and on top of the subscription’s monthly fee. The new price will kick-in from April 10th.

Users will need to switch to the new plan to watch videos without ads. It will also be the only option that supports 4K/UHD streaming. This means 4K won’t be available on cheaper plans. The Ultra plan supports up to 5 simultaneous streams, Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, and up to 100 downloads. It remains to be seen whether users would switch to the higher priced plan to avoid ads.

YouTube TV introduces 30-second non skippable ads

Continuing on the topic of ads in videos, YouTube has made a controversial move that is sure to annoy many users. YouTube TV has started displaying 30-second ads. The Mountain View company calls these VRC Non-Skips, and says that the new experience is available globally in Google Ads and Display & Video 360. The ads are optimized by AI. 9to5Google reports that YouTube TV’s AI will dynamically detect whether the device being used is a TV, and if so, it displays the 30-second ads.

If however the device is not a TV, the AI will optimize the ads between 6-second and 15-second ad formats. This seems like yet another anti-ad blocker move from Google, which shouldn’t be entirely surprising, given that YouTube been aggressively preventing ad blockers for the past few years. By doing so, it hopes to drive users towards YouTube Premium, which in turn will bring in additional revenue to fill its coffers. There’s no denying that YouTube is the most successful streaming service, way ahead of Netflix, Prime Video, and the rest.