Google morning. How many times have you written that before? I hope you had a lovely final weekend before Labor Day. This morning, I’m reading about tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of pristine Duck Hunt cartridges found in a box in Wisconsin, vigorously nodding my head along to John Oliver’s takedown of subscription bloat (but remember to subscribe to 9to5Google Pro anyway!), and wishing I had a 3D printer to create my dream storage and organization system.
As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.
Inbox is written by Daniel Bader. Read previous issues here, and then catch up with Ben Schoon’s excellent Weekender column published every Sunday.
⭐️ Starred
I think it’s safe to say that Google’s decision over the weekend to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America has been met with a bit of pushback.
In a blog post, Google says that it generally abides by the Geographic Names Information System when it comes to how it presents names on maps, and since Executive Order 14420 “directs the Board on Geographic Names (‘BGN’) to immediately rename Lake Ontario to Lake America and to update the Geographic Names Information System to appropriately reflect the change,” it was merely following its own protocols. Google went through the same rigmarole when it renamed Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America in February 2025.
One beneficiary of the drama has been MapQuest, the company whose rise and subsequent fall can be directly traced to Google Maps’ ascent over the past two decades. In social media posts on Friday, the company showed a cropped map of Lake Ontario with the caption, “We’re not changing it,” inspiring widespread support alongside understandable questions of “MapQuest still exists?!”
Over the weekend, the company’s Android and iOS downloads shot up 128%, bringing it to the top of their respective “maps & navigation apps” categories on both platforms, and app usage was up 50x, according to owner System1.
As of writing, Apple has yet to make the same change to its Maps app, but it’ll likely happen any day now, particularly because the President is applying pressure, according to reports.
Though the name change itself amounts to a minor scuffle within the larger trade war between the US and Canada, Google Maps’ enormous reach — and companies’ reliance on its APIs — means that long after the heat has died down, its effects will be felt indefinitely.
✉️ Inbox
- Android 17 QPR2 Beta 4 rolling out with many Pixel bug fixes. Google’s relentless Android release cycle continues unabated, and Beta 4 appears more feature-filled than most.
- Google’s hyper-personalized ‘Dreambeans’ feed is now free to test. I’m still not sure exactly what Dreambeans is, but I know that it’s Google’s best new product name since Daydream.
- Google made a cozy mobile game called ‘Froggy’s World’ & the whimsy is back. Just when you thought Froggy was going the way of the dodo, Google goes ahead and vibe-codes a Stardew Valley-like starring the titular amphibian. And who said Big Tech no longer has a sense of humor?
- Google is making AI Overviews even bigger on some search queries. AI Overviews are becoming even harder to avoid, and it shows Google’s intent to keep people on Google, and not clicking away, as long as possible.
- Gemini Notebook switching to compute-based usage limits, like Gemini app. Is the tool formerly known as NotebookLM so popular that Google needs to even further restrict its usage? I guess so.
- Google announces ‘Expert Intelligence’ to let you add Play Books in Gemini Notebook. Gemini Notebook is becoming even more of a CliffsNotes competitor. Its new Expert Intelligence feature lets you embed participating books that you’ve purchased through Play Books into Gemini and treat them like a primary source. It’s an idea I’m curious to see authors either embrace or reject.
- People are sticking the Fitbit Air to their bodies, literally, and it works [Gallery]. I kind of love this trend of seeing all the weird places people are sticking their Fitbit Airs (behave!).
- Google Nest lineup gets a price hike across nearly every camera & doorbell. The Google TV Streamer is getting a 50% price increase while Nest Cams and Doorbells are seeing hikes of between 11% and 33%. Not a great look for Google’s smart home platform.
🤝 Cc: David Imel
Welcome to a new project I’m calling Cc, where I ask interesting people in the community about what’s making them happy both inside and outside the world of tech. First up, my friend and long-time mobile journalist, David Imel.
Who are you?
My name is David Imel.
What do you do for work?
I’m a technology journalist for the Waveform Podcast, The Verge, and my own work on my blog and YouTube channel.
What do you do for fun?
For fun I do landscape photography, host community events, hike, travel, play music and spend time with my friends. My most common hobby is walking. I love walking.
What is your relationship like with technology these days?
My relationship with technology is weird these days. I’ve been trying to do more things off-screen, like reading books and going to movies. I like hiking and walking because they get me off the internet. I feel that social media has been co-opted by oligarchs to make us hate each other; the more time I spend on social media, the worse I feel. Because of this, I’m trying to spend more time without any headphones in and without looking at screens, and it’s making me feel happier. I also do a lot of analog stuff like film photography and listening to records with my friends, because they feel more tangible.
What are three apps you can’t live without and why?
- Pocket Casts. I’ve been using it for 16 years. It’s the longest app I’ve continuously used. I love it.
- Viewfinder Preview and Second View. These are light meter and framing apps for my film photography. I use them all the time.
- Moment Camera Pro II. I’ve been having a lot of fun taking photos on my phone and I shoot RAW through this app. It’s great.
What is a gadget that you love right now?
I’m loving the Fitbit Air. It’s nice to be able to use my analog watches but still get info about my health, especially since I’ve been taking my health more seriously this year.
What’s a recent book you loved?
I recently read both East of Eden and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck: This book is so well written. I love how wildly different the various characters are and the descriptions of Northern California.
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson: Just a wild fever dream of a book that is super fun and enjoyable to read.
What’s a recent album you loved?
- The Place Behind the Stars by Streetlight Manifesto. Technically this album is only half out right now. It got delayed a few times and five of the songs are released so far. But this has been my favorite band since I discovered them in 2009 and new music from them is a blessing. The last album came out in 2013, so it’s been a long wait. The rest of the album is supposed to come out in mid-September. Currently, the album is called “Halfway to the Place Behind the Stars”.
- Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan by The Mountain Goats. This album came out last year and I love it. I was reminded of how much I loved it because The Mountain Goats just released a new album called “Days” and I did not like it much, but I listened to this one again and it is magical.
What’s a recent movie you loved?
Project Hail Mary because it was so lovely, especially in IMAX, but I also loved The Drama because of how divided it made people. And the performances were fantastic.
What’s something offline you do every day that brings you joy?
I go on very long walks every day. I usually average about 15,000 steps. I’ve also been bringing my guitar to the park almost every day and practicing it. But the #1 thing I’ve done every day since college is going to the local coffee shop every morning, catching up with the regulars and sipping some good coffee. I wake up early – usually around 7am, so it’s a really great little reprieve before the day starts.
Thank you, David, for being my guinea pig for this experiment.
➡️ FWD:
This section has some of our favorite stuff from around the internet. Great videos, weird memes, fun reads, recommended apps, whatever. Send us your recommendations!
- The FTC and 22 US States are suing Amazon (PDF) over “secretly and systematically overcharg[ing] its approximately 1.2 million advertising customers by manipulating the ‘auctions’ that it uses to set the price of ads on its platform.” In response, Amazon says that the FTC “fundamentally misunderstands how advertisers behave” and that “there is also no harm to consumers.”
- Tim Cook’s last day as Apple CEO was August 31st. He penned an emotional letter to Apple employees: “I hope you know how much I appreciate you and what an honor it has been to be your CEO.” He says of incoming CEO John Ternus: “I take enormous comfort in handing the helm to someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John. Few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does.” (9to5Mac)
- You’ve probably heard about the proliferation of Flock cameras being deployed around the US to track everything from individuals moving around a city to car license plates. You’ve also probably heard about the similarly swift backlash from community members who are tired of being followed, harassed, and, in some cases, wrongfully arrested. The NYTimes Daily podcast summarizes the whole dystopian affair.
- A massive swath of Valve’s production Steam database from 2003 to 2013 has leaked, and with it comes a veritable treasure trove of unfinished game files, including from Portal 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and CS:GO. (Ars Technica)
- The harness that started it all mere months ago, OpenClaw, is back with a massive 2.0 update. While it now has dozens of competitors, including Hermes Agent (which I prefer), it’s nice to see the OG getting a spit-shine.
🎙️ Quotations
Due to rising component costs, we are adjusting the U.S. pricing of select Google Nest cameras, doorbells and Google TV streamer 4K, effective August 31. We remain committed to providing our customers with industry-leading smart home security and continuous feature updates.
– Google, on justifying its up to 50% increase in Google Nest products this week
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Thanks for reading, and have a great day. Talk to you on Thursday.
-Daniel
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