Firefox 157 Project Nova, F-Droid 2.0 and Android Auto Games: What’s Changing

Firefox 157 and Project Nova: a redesign arriving September 29​

For Windows users, this is the item that will actually show up on their screens. Neowin reports the redesign ships on September 29 with Firefox 157. Mozilla's own documentation agrees. The Firefox administrator reference lists Firefox 157 as "upcoming, expected 29 September 2026," and MDN's developer notes give the same ship date. As of this writing, the stable release has not happened yet. It is two days out.

What Nova actually is​

Mozilla's internal name for the work is Project Nova. The Firefox UX team says the goal is a browser that feels "cleaner, warmer, faster and more adaptable." The team also says that once Nova rolls out, people should just call it Firefox. So Nova is a redesign of Firefox, not a new browser. Mozilla's May design post lists the main visual changes:

• Softer tabs, with a subtle gradient that makes the active tab stand out
• Rounded, consistent components across panels, menus, settings and controls
• Updated icons tuned for both light and dark themes
• Rebalanced spacing across the interface
• A new color palette inspired by fire: warm glows and deep smoky purples

Some changes go beyond looks. Mozilla says tab groups, split view and vertical tabs will be easier to reach. Settings are being rewritten in plainer language, including controls to turn off AI features entirely. Compact mode is coming back after users asked for it. Mozilla says the redesign is most visible on desktop, but shared colors, icons and design foundations also apply to mobile.

What Beta testers are already seeing​

Nova has been in Firefox 157 Beta since that build first went to Beta users on September 14. Mozilla's Beta release notes call it the browser's "biggest visual refresh in years," with changes to the browser frame, sidebar and menus. Other items in those notes:

• New built-in themes, each with light and dark versions
• The new compact mode, which tightens toolbar and tab spacing for small screens and split-screen layouts
• Hardware AV1 decoding for WebRTC video calls on devices that support it
• Windows-specific fixes: some 8-bit HDR videos looked dull and gray instead of displaying in HDR, and full-screen video sometimes left the Windows taskbar showing on top
• Pressing Tab now jumps straight into the address bar and search bar text field instead of stopping on the search engine button first
• Amazon is no longer a built-in search engine, though you can still add it as a custom one

Mozilla's Beta notes also warn that features listed there "may or may not" make the final release. Treat the list as a strong preview, not a promise.

What admins need to know​

The enterprise release notes are where the real Windows admin work is. Mozilla says these changes apply to Firefox 157 and Firefox ESR 153.4.0 unless noted otherwise:

If any of your machines are still on ESR 140, that last row is the one to act on. Plan the move to ESR 153 now. Firefox 157 Beta is available as Windows 64-bit, 32-bit, ARM64 and MSI builds, and Mozilla notes that Beta no longer supports Windows 8.1 and older.

For web developers, MDN's draft notes list support for the CSS at-rule() function in @supports, plus WebGPU's TRANSIENT_ATTACHMENT texture usage, which can avoid VRAM traffic for attachments used only within a single render pass. MDN says those notes are still a work in progress.

One caution. None of the Mozilla material reviewed here says whether stable Firefox 157 will let users permanently switch back to the old interface. You'll see about:config tweaks on forums. They are not official guidance, and even the forum posts suggesting them warn that changing advanced preferences can cause problems.

Summary: Nova is a large visual reset for Firefox on Windows, due September 29. Home users get new themes and compact mode back. Admins get a new AI-related policy control, two policy fixes, and a firm end date for ESR 140.

F-Droid 2.0: the open-source Android store rebuilt​

F-Droid announced version 2.0 on September 24. The project calls it a complete redesign and its largest app update in ten years. It took more than a year and went through 14 test releases. F-Droid is rolling it out over the coming weeks, so some users won't get it right away.

What changed​

• Three-tab layout: Discover, Search and My Apps. Categories now sit inside Discover. Settings and Nearby Swap are in the top bar.
• Rebuilt in Kotlin with Jetpack Compose, which F-Droid says makes the code easier to maintain and makes it easier for new contributors to get started
• Better search: it now looks at descriptions, categories and translated text, and handles Chinese, Japanese and Korean much better
• Many more categories: games alone are now split into 17 genres
• Combined filters, for example showing only games that work on your device and don't rely on non-free network services
• One installer for every setup: F-Droid credits pressure from the EU's Digital Markets Act for Android changes that made this possible. On supported devices, you now approve an install before the download starts, not after.
• Automatic updates by default, though existing user preferences are kept

What was removed or changed​

The project is open about what it cut:

• Android 7.0 is now the minimum. A fix that arrived in Android 7 forced F-Droid to drop Android 6. Older F-Droid releases will keep working on older devices.
• F-Droid Privileged Extension is no longer used, even if it's installed. The app now relies on Android's standard installer for background updates.
• Pull-to-refresh no longer checks for updates. Update checks happen in the background.
• Built-in Tor settings are replaced by general proxy settings. F-Droid now recommends Tor VPN.
• App wiping: if you rely on the current app-wiping feature, F-Droid says you may want to hold off on updating while it decides whether to bring that feature back.

F-Droid also says an independent security review of 2.0 was carried out and that it addressed the relevant findings. That's reassuring, but it covers the F-Droid app itself. It doesn't mean every app in the repository has been checked.

Summary: F-Droid 2.0 is a real rebuild, not just new paint. Anyone still on Android 6, or relying on the privileged extension or app wiping, should read the list of changes before updating.

Android Auto and Automotive OS games are now open to all developers​

Google announced on its Android Developers Blog that the games category for Android Auto and cars powered by Android Automotive OS with Google built-in is officially graduating from beta to general availability. As a result, developers can now publish games to the open testing and production tracks on Google Play. Until now the category was limited to early-access partners.

It's worth being clear about what this doesn't mean. Games are parked-only. According to reporting from Mobile Marketing Reads, Android Auto and Android Automotive OS automatically block these activities when the vehicle is in motion or when driving-related user experience restrictions become active. Game audio must also stop when driving begins. Google's own examples are natural downtime, such as while waiting at a charging station or for a curbside order pickup.

What developers need to do​

1. Fit every screen. Autoevolution quotes Google's requirement that games run full screen on different screen sizes, without black bars on the top or sides. Android Police adds that head units come in landscape and portrait orientations.
2. Save the player's place. Android Authority notes Google wants games to restore their previous state when relaunched.
3. Declare each platform separately. tbreak points out that a game may support one platform without supporting the other.
4. Test with Google's tools. Google says to use the Desktop Head Unit to test your app's Android Auto compatibility, and use the Android Automotive OS emulator for the other platform.
5. Opt in and pass review. Opt in to the car form factors in Play Console. Every game is reviewed against the car app quality guidelines for the games category before it is approved for open testing or production.

For drivers, Google requires devices running Android 15 and newer to play games through Android Auto. Controllers are supported on both platforms. Android Police is realistic about the short term: the change doesn't change much for frequent Android Auto users right away, and most existing games playable on Android Auto are designed for kids.

Summary: This is a change to how games get published, not a sudden new game library. More titles should reach car screens over time, and only when the car is parked.

What ties the three together​

All three stories are about who controls the software on a screen. Mozilla is betting that design and privacy controls can win back desktop users, and it's giving admins tighter policy controls at the same time. F-Droid is using Android's new, DMA-driven installer options to act more like a first-party app store while dropping features that were costly to maintain. Google is turning parked cars into one more place for Play Store apps. What to do now depends on where you sit. Windows admins should check their ESR 140 machines. Android users on old hardware should confirm their device runs Android 7 or later before the F-Droid update arrives. Game developers can start adapting their titles for car screens now.