Send tips/talk to abner@9to5mac.com or @technacity (open DMs).
Abner Li has worked at 9to5Google since 2015 and in late 2020 took on the role of editor-in-chief. He is keenly focused on tracking what happens at Google, and is often the first to spot new features in Google’s ever-growing family of applications that are updated on a daily basis, including Search, Assistant, Maps, Workspace, Android, Chrome/OS, Wear OS, and YouTube Music.
To him, what Google does greatly impacts the technology space and modern life. Inside the company, he is particularly interested in the key products mentioned above, as well as services like Google Podcasts and Google Lens. Each are massive platforms that can be unwieldy to grasp, with Abner keenly bent on understanding their philosophy and future direction. He is most excited about Google’s plans for augmented reality glasses.
Abner spearheads the APK Insight program at 9to5Google to chronicle all changes in the company’s Android apps, often finding new features before they are officially announced. This includes redesigns and revamps, launches, and new products.
A big area of interest is Google’s hardware division, including Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest. He detailed all of the Pixel 3’s camera features before launch and scooped the 2nd-generation Nest Hub’s Soli-powered Sleep Sensing capability, including how it would integrate with Google Fit.
Recently, Abner detailed the Pixel Watch’s specs in full before launch, including bands and pricing. He also got wind of the Pixel Tablet’s ultimate form factor.
The monthly “Google System Release Notes” primarily detail what’s new in Play services, Play Store, and Play system update across Android phones/tablets, Wear OS, Google/Android TV, Auto, and PC. Some features apply to end users, while others are aimed at developers.
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Like most Google apps, Messages A/B tests many features. However, it takes the RCS/SMS client a rather long time to actually launch these capabilities in stable even after they are announced. From various reports, Google itself, and devices we’ve checked, this is the current state of Messages.
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In 2024, YouTube Music switched to quarterly “New Features Highlights,” but skipped the Q3 edition. Google is now back with a cumulative list to summarize the second half of the year in launches.
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The US Google Store is launching a Pixel Referral Rewards program: “Earn $50 in Google Store credit for each friend who buys a Pixel and they’ll get 10% off a Pixel phone.”
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Google Photos is simplifying the bottom bar to three tabs, and another big design change tests a very prominent row of shortcuts.
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In addition to other remedies, the Justice Department in November shared that it wants Google to sell Chrome. Google today shared its own remedies proposal.
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Earlier this month, Google started testing Gemini in Google Assistant on the Nest Mini and Audio, and here are the new voices.
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Android XR will support several input methods, with Google even building a “Gesture navigation” system that uses the familiar 3-button layout.
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Welcome to episode 35 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, we talk about Gemini 2.0 and the 2 Android beta/preview releases.
For the Pixel 9 series, Google introduced a “Swirling petals” collection, and a subset of those wallpapers are now available for the Pixel Tablet.
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Gemini Advanced subscribers are getting access to a new “Deep Research” capability. It is the “first feature in Gemini” to bring Google’s vision of agents that can perform complex actions on your behalf.
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A nice quality-of-life improvement to Google Photos for Android (and the web) shows “Albums” status in the Info panel.
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After rolling out a new PDF viewer, Files by Google has detailed a trio of new features, including integration with Gemini’s upcoming “Ask about this PDF” functionality.
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Over the past few weeks, Google Fiber — or “GFiber” — introduced new plans (Core 1 Gig, Home 3 Gig, and Edge 8 Gig) with updated branding and features in two cities.
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Google Keep users this week are being prompted to “reload” their notes, while there’s also a small design tweak on Android that curves corners.
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After hitting the Google app beta channel on Monday, access to 2.0 Flash Experimental in the Gemini app on Android is now rolling out to stable users.
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Google today is rolling out the OTA update that takes Pixel devices on Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3.1 to the stable release.
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Google today released an experimental “Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking” model that “explicitly shows its thoughts” to solve complex problems.
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The second developer preview of Android 16 is available today, and we are looking at DP2 to find what new features have been introduced. So far, this isn’t a big release.
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Ahead of the Q2 2025 launch, Google is rolling out Developer Preview 2 of Android 16 to Pixel devices. This should be the last Android update of the year, with 15 QPR2 Beta 2 arriving earlier this week.
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After the last firmware release in August, Google is rolling out a new software update to the Nest Wifi Pro with Mesh improvements. The router is over two years old at this point.
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Following Android, Google is rolling out an update to the Gemini app on iPhone that lets users select 2.0 Flash Experimental.
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As announced with the December 2024 Feature Drop, Google is rolling out an “Enhance Now Playing” setting for Pixel devices.
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As “scammers go into overdrive during the holiday season,” Gmail’s latest AI-powered protections have resulted in “35% fewer scams (phishing, malware, etc.) hitting inboxes.”
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