Kyle Bradshaw joined 9to5Google in 2018 with a special interest in Google’s Fuchsia OS, rooted in his experience of being the first to offer a visual preview of the revolutionary design of the in-development operating system. Since then, his attention has broadened to include the secrets hidden within other areas of Google’s public codebases.
By reading the public Fuchsia code, Kyle was able to prove the existence of the Nest Mini and the Nest Hub Max months ahead of their respective announcements. With evidence from Chromium, he reported on Google’s since-canceled efforts to create an offshoot of Android designed for “touchless” feature phones.
In 2018, Kyle reported on three distinct Made by Google Chromebooks in development, the Pixel Slate, the Pixelbook Go — a full year before its release — and “Meowth,” the original version of the Pixel Slate that was canceled due to Intel’s delays that year. For ChromeOS itself, Kyle was the first to demonstrate the upcoming light theme redesign in action.
Looking at the early evidence of the Pixel 5’s specs, Kyle accurately predicted in February 2020 that the Pixel 5 might not be a traditional “flagship” phone. In 2021, he reported that Google’s next headset would be the “Pixel Buds A.”
Kyle was the first to report that the Pixel 6 would mark the debut of Google’s in-house processors, later revealed to be the Tensor chips.
Kyle contributes to the APK Insight column at 9to5Google, discovering the hidden changes in Google’s apps. These efforts have revealed hotly anticipated features, details about upcoming devices, and unexpected connections between companies.
He can be reached for tips or just friendly chat by Threads, Mastodon, Bluesky, or email. If you’re looking for his other works or side projects, head over to Kyle’s personal portfolio.
Out on the streets today, it’s all too common to see folks walking around with their eyes glued to their phones, nearly oblivious to the world around them. Google’s Digital Wellbeing is preparing to offer “Heads Up” notifications to remind you not to use your phone while walking.
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This month saw the passing of Alex Trebek, the longtime host of Jeopardy and a global icon. To honor Trebek’s life and legacy, Google Search has introduced a simple Jeopardy-themed easter egg.
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With the latest update to Chrome, Google has launched a new rounded square icon for the browser on macOS. However, it seems another icon redesign is on the way with Google teasing some potential icons for Chrome to better match the design language of macOS Big Sur.
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Shortly after the Launch Night In event, the new Chromecast with Google TV became available for purchase in numerous countries worldwide. Starting today, residents of Japan can now preorder the Chromecast with Google TV.
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This week, Google Stadia is preparing for its first anniversary. As part of that celebration, they’ve put a bunch of indie games on sale, including marking down Crayta, the Stadia exclusive tool to play and make games, at a “100% off” discount — aka free.
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One argument many make against Stadia is that Google has a reputation for “killing” apps. Today, we’re learning that Google has ambitions for Stadia Games and Entertainment to launch games through 2023 and beyond.
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The last few weeks have been a busy one for Google Stadia in the build up to its first anniversary. Today, Stadia has formally announced the launch of new features like family sharing, messaging, and more.
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Over the past few years, Google has offered perks for its paying YouTube Premium members, such as a free Nest Mini speaker. The latest promo lets YouTube Premium subscribers in the United Kingdom claim a Stadia Premiere Edition bundle for free.
Update 4: This offer is now available in Canada and select countries in the EU, after going out of stock in the US and UK.
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This afternoon, one of the most well-known pieces of software for downloading YouTube videos, youtube-dl, was removed from GitHub following a takedown notice from the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA.
Update: GitHub has restored youtube-dl to good standing following changes to remove the claimed copyright infringement.
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In this week’s top stories: Google Photos lays out a plan to discontinue its free tier, we go hands-on with the OnePlus Nord N10 5G, YouTube Premium promo offers free Stadia Premiere Edition bundle, and more.
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In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Google has replaced its homepage logo with a Doodle video honoring Maria Tallchief, the first Native American prima ballerina.
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This week, those enrolled in the Google Play Services beta received an update to version 20.45, which includes work to sync Wi-Fi passwords between your Android phone to your Chromebook.
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Last month, the Stadia app gained the ability to notify you about important things like game and party invites. Starting today, Stadia for Android and iOS now offers notifications for new game releases and new Stadia features.
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Coinciding with the launch of the Pixel 5, the Google Camera app got an update to version 8.0, bringing a clean redesign to the app. Today, Google Camera 8.1 has begun rolling out, bringing that same design to older Pixel phones.
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Earlier this year, Microsoft’s xCloud streaming graduated from a “preview” to a full-fledged part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Now Microsoft is looking to expand Xbox Game Pass Ultimate streaming to new countries like Brazil and Mexico, starting with another xCloud preview period.
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By long-pressing the Capture button on the Stadia Controller, you can easily save a video of the last 30 seconds of your gameplay. Now you can share your Stadia screenshots and clips with others as easily as sharing a link.
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Over the northern hemisphere’s summer, Google’s 3D animals became an overnight viral hit, especially among parents trying to entertain their kids while stuck at home. Celebrating the arrival of summer in the southern hemisphere, Google is launching a new set of 3D animals hailing from Australia.
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November 11 is Veterans Day in the United States, and to celebrate, Google has enlisted the help of an Air Force veteran who crafted a Doodle from military uniforms.
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Destiny 2: Beyond Light, the latest major expansion that will set the stage for the next year of the game’s story content, is now available on Google Stadia.
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Ahead of the launch of Stadia in November 2019, Destiny 2 was announced as the first free Stadia Pro game. After a full year of being available to claim, Destiny 2 is set to leave Stadia Pro in a little over a week.
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Since launch, the Pixel 5 and the soon-to-release Pixel 4a 5G have made you choose between using either Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) or a 5G connection, but that appears to be changing soon.
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Chrome OS’s “Connectivity Diagnostics” app, used to help figure out why your Chromebook’s internet connection may be acting up, is poised to get a revamp.
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In this week’s top stories: Google runs a “Pixel 5 $5G” sweepstakes, Google One rolls out a VPN for Android, we walk you through how to get some of Google’s older app icons back, and more.
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Since its launch nearly a year ago, Stadia has only officially been available on Android, Web, and Chromecast. It appears Stadia may soon pick up iPhone and iPad as its first additional platforms, with new code pointing to official support for Safari on iOS 14.
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