Author

Avatar for Greg Barbosa

Greg Barbosa

Greg Barbosa is a writer and Product Manager across our network of sites at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, and Electrek. He previously worked as a QA tester and lead at a mobile software development company, data engineer at a government procurement startup, and moved through multiple roles at an Apple store before that.

Have any tips, suggestions, or ideas? Email him at greg@9to5mac.com.

Save at least $150 off Google’s Pixelbook at Best Buy when you trade-in a working laptop

Best Buy is currently running a trade-in sale on Google’s Pixelbook, offering at least $150 off. This discount comes in the form of a $50 Best Buy gift card and at least $100 trade-in value for qualifying working laptops. The sale is in-store only, so you must find a participating Best Buy and bring your laptop in to see if you qualify. See the sale’s dedicated landing page for more info. Full terms and conditions are listed below. For more information about Google’s Pixelbook, check out our full hands-on review.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Andy Rubin on AmbientOS, future Essential products and AR [Interview]

This past Wednesday at WIRED’s Business Conference, Andy Rubin took the stage to share more about his new company, Essential. Having begun teasing various products over the previous months, we were eager to hear more.

After his on-stage appearance, 9to5Google got time to sit down with Rubin. We discussed how AmbientOS plans to play well with others, what his vision for the company is, and consumer walled-gardens.


Expand
Expanding
Close

The Upload is SoundCloud’s answer to Spotify’s Discover Weekly

SoundCloud has unveiled a new feature today to help listeners discover even more new music. The Upload is SoundCloud’s answer to the music discovery playlists that have become popular with other streaming services. By analyzing what its users are already interested in, The Upload will recommend new content that has been added to SoundCloud within the last few days.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

How to enable T-Mobile’s new robocall protection to block scam calls on Android

T-Mobile Scam ID

As part of an industry-wide fight against robocalling, T-Mobile is introducing new technologies today to help consumers fight against phone call scams.

Using patent-pending technology, T-Mobile is rolling out features that will integrate directly into the Un-carrier’s network. No apps to download, no settings to configure, simply dial a number to enable the protection.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Google forced to pull LinkedIn from Russian app store due to court ruling

Site default logo image

MS-Linkedin-2016-06-12-1-c

Not even a week after being requested to pull The New York Times app from the Chinese Apple App Store, both Apple and Google will have to pull the LinkedIn app from their respective app stores. According to The New York Times, the removal comes after a court ruled that LinkedIn had violated Russia’s data protection laws.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Instagram’s live video begins rolling out to everyone in the US today

instagram-app-live-video

Following their original announcement, Instagram has begun rolling out live video to all their US users. To commemorate the occasion Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Instagram’s CEO and CTO respectively are live streaming the event over at the official Instagram account. Instagram’s live video feature is another way the company is hoping to promote sharing freely and in the moment.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Hulu launches profiles to create personalized experiences for multiple users on a single account

Hulu Profiles

Hulu has started the official roll out of profiles to their 12 million subscribers. Profiles will allow multiple viewers sharing a single Hulu account to create a personalized experience for each. The move to personalized profiles comes after their decision to move away from free TV episode offerings and focus on a subscription centric model.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Adobe Experience Design CC update includes real time design previews on Android and iOS

adobe-experience-design-cc

Adobe announced the September update to its Adobe Experience Design CC software today with support for real time design and prototype testing on iOS and Android devices. The update includes a a few other changes, but Adobe’s inclusion for real time previewing fills a large gap it was missing when compared to its competitors. Locking aspect ratios, zooming into selections, and a new transition are amongst the other new features announced today.


Expand
Expanding
Close

T-Mobile’s Uncarrier 11: Free stock, gifts every Tuesday, & inflight Wi-Fi with Gogo

T-Mobile Uncarrier 11 #GetThanked

In the latest installment of their Uncarrier initiatives, T-Mobile today announced their new #GetThanked campaign. The campaign puts a focus on “thanking” T-Mobile customers for their loyalty to the company and brand by giving away free T-Mobile’s stock, gifts and promotions ever Tuesday, and inflight Wi-Fi for domestic fliers with Gogo.


Expand
Expanding
Close

eBay refreshing mobile apps with updated design + speed improvements

eBay has begun rolling out major UI and overall app improvements to its mobile applications today. Most notable will be both iOS and Android apps seeing a redesign of the main navigation menu. Previous versions of both mobile apps utilized a custom navigation menu: a mix between a top navigation bar and hamburger menu. The app update rolling out from today utilizes standard UI navigation elements for both iOS and Android. Android will be seeing the update released today, and the iOS update will be available in the coming days.


Expand
Expanding
Close

iPhone and Samsung Gear S2 support draws closer as iOS app leaks

We’ve previously reported that the Samsung Gear S2 would be gaining support for iOS later this year, and it looks like that support is coming soon. A member of the XDA-Developers forums has shared a link to a potentially early version of a Samsung Gear S2 specific app that would allows iOS to pair with the device. While the app appears to be in the early stages (indications of the app’s creation dates back to March 2nd), it could potentially show us what the final app will look like.

Based on discussions in the forum, users looking to attempt the pair the devices may have to restore their S2 to factory settings before having it pair with the leaked iOS application. This may require having another Android device on hand, but the results seem to be mixed at this point. Some forum members are also indicating that they are able to receive notifications pushed from iOS, but have no way to reply.

The Samsung Gear S2 Lite iOS application can be installed through iTunes, or by side-loading through Xcode. Before launching the application, a Samsung specific enterprise profile must be accepted through settings. We cannot stress this enough, installing applications from unverified sources is not guaranteed safe. Proceed with extreme caution.

The Samsung Gear S2 is available refurbished from Best Buy for $159.99, or new from Amazon at $249.

Snapchat update adding motion tracking stickers on Android and iOS

Site default logo image

Snapchat Featured Image

Snapchat has been on a roll lately introducing bigger and more creative updates to their social network. From introducing custom geofilters, to a massive overhaul in their chat system, they show no signs of slowing down. Today’s update takes video interactions a step further by allowing you to “pin” stickers and emojis to moving objects in video. The update will be rolling out to Android today and soon to iOS.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Here’s everything Facebook announced at F8 that’s coming soon to Android

Site default logo image

Zuckerberg Live on Stage at F8 2016

Facebook held its annual F8 developer’s conference today that laid out the foundation for what the company plans to accomplish as far out as the next ten years. Today’s keynote presentation focused more on what the next year at Facebook and its products would look like for customers. Putting a heavy emphasis on Messenger and Facebook Live, it’s fair to say that you’ll be seeing a lot of these changes coming to mobile very soon.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Revolv, acquired by Nest Labs in 2014, is shutting down all its services next month

Revolv

Revolv, a home automation device company, has announced that it will be officially be shutting down next month. Alphabet’s Nest Labs purchased Revolv back in 2014 and the duo had worked toward bettering out the Works with Nest platform since then. After the acquisition, Revolv’s products continued to function as expected, but today’s shutdown announces that neither the hub or app will be functional any longer after May 15th.


Expand
Expanding
Close