Origin/Playstation Store preview screenshots (gameplay?)

Agreed. This annoyed me as well.

I'm not sure if it's all weapons that are smaller (we can hope), or just that rifle. The primary rifle has been identified as the Avenger AAX5. It looks more like a carbine than a full sized assault rifle. (Many would say the same of a lot of the ME ARs, I imagine.) It has a grip and trigger that look a lot like the Kassa Locust, and the stock is much smaller.

The Avenger in the pic in this thread looks like a standard Avenger, really. The AAX5 can be seen pretty well if you look up the Scott Ryder statue/figure. It's also seen briefly in the Ai orientation video. I'd post an image, but I'm on a mobile device and it's pretty difficult to make it work.

I hope the new weapons like the AAX5 remain relevant for more than a few hours in-game. I'd hate to see them become obsolete as we find better tech. The crafting system sounds promising, in terms of keeping your preferred arms relevant.