Another decade of G36 it is! LMAO. The fact that it's yet again the magazine that is problematic is also hilarious.

Also regarding the updated G36, i don't really like how thin the structure of the stock is. For a service rifle i think it's not robust enough. The stock is the only thing that is bothering me about the new G36. Why they designed it like that is beyond me. I don't think weight is the reason for a gun with a lot of plastic material.

Steyr has released a (German but easy to understand) video of their G36 upgrade receiver. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNX0TTDDwSU

Idea seems to be that the aluminum receiver improves thermal stability and reduces shot dispersion. 

It’s the obvious solution, one I thought about when the polymer receiver / steel trunnion interface came up as an issue - odd that hk didn’t have it up their sleeve as a backup.

There is an English version as well,: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwNZd194Hf4&ab_channel=STEYRARMS.  INterestingly, this shows a slightly different modification, with a different top rail and a new integrated frontend (the Wilcox Fusion system, which integrates laser, flashlight, and optics, described here: https://www.wilcoxind.com/news/news_wilcox_steyr_g36.php )

By the time you make all the optional changes (barrel, fore-end and top rail, and magwell), the only original parts remaining seem to the fire control group (trigger and grip) and the buttstock.

Any sense of what the swap would do to the overall weight?  

Here comes the eternal debate - which is better, red dot + magnifier, LPVO or fixed low magnification telescopic?

LOL.

The round counter that reports via "encrypted cell phone" raised an eyebrow for me.  I'm not sure how this is implemented, but the last thing I want is a rifle that phones home from the battlefield in real-time.  It's  not that hard to geolocate a cell phone signal, encrypted or not.  

I am quite certain that the round counter is for maintenance purposes an HF RFID that you can read at hands length no more.

You would think so, but it specifically says "ties back through the encrypted cell phone with Blueforce BTAC System."  That seems a little more active than the FN SmartCore, for example. 

Concur.

"The warfighter is able to connect the weapon via BTAC plugin to the network, providing awareness of the weapon’s operational health while in the field as well as an armorer’s interface..."

Wilcox News | The BTAC Enabled FUSION SYSTEM (wilcoxind.com)

I sometimes wonder if system designers haven't spent too much time watching Aliens.  They seem to imagine an officer sitting in a TOC somewhere watching the round count on his soldier's rifles go up as they shoot it out with the bad guys.