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.
Earlier this month, the flagship LG G8 ThinQ began to receive its Android 10 update, but only in South Korea. So far in the US, LG’s devices have stayed on Android Pie, sometimes to the point of being humorous. The LG G7 One, based on Android One, is receiving an update to Android 10, which is actually rolling out through carriers in North America.
When an app needs to sign in to your Google Account, there are two primary ways to do so — securely with an OAuth token or directly with your username and password. Apps that use the latter method are considered “less secure apps” by Google, and G Suite accounts will begin to lose access to them starting in June 2020.
When most people think of web browsers, the usual suspects come to mind — Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, etc. — but over the history of the internet, far more browsers have been created. Recently, people who use some Linux-specific browsers, including Falkon, reportedly found themselves blocked from logging in to their Google Accounts, preventing the use of services like Gmail.
This week on Alphabet Scoop, we revealed our first minor leak regarding the Pixel 4a, the expected mid-year follow-up to the Google Pixel 4. With less than 6 months until the presumed release date of the Pixel 4a, let’s look at some of the features we’d most like to see on Google’s second mid-range phone.
In this week’s top stories: Google Pixel series of phones receive their first ever “Feature Drop,” RCS messaging arrives on nearly every Android phone in the US through Google Messages, we explain the mysterious silent text messages that Google occasionally sends from your device, and more.
Yesterday, on our Alphabet Scoop podcast, our Stephen Hall dropped a mini bombshell that a Fuchsia tablet is rumored to be in the works. We dug in a bit deeper and found that the truth may be more complicated than that.
Early this year, it was discovered that the first Chrome OS tablet with Qi wireless charging was being developed under the codename “Flapjack.” Fast forward to today, it appears Chrome OS won’t be the only operating system this device supports, as Google’s Fuchsia OS team is also looking to support the “Flapjack” tablet.
Our accessories are increasingly powered by Bluetooth, especially our smartphones, and even devices like the Google Pixel Slate are not offering a headphone jack. Catching up with the likes of Android and iOS, Chrome OS can now show you how much battery life your Bluetooth accessories have left, but there’s a major caveat.
As Android has developed, its update process has become more and more of a hands-off experience, but there’s still one snag that prevents updates from being able to happen without your input. According to a new code change, this may soon be changing with a new Android feature called “Resume on Reboot.”
At the core of every flagship Android phone, underneath the layers of brand-specific and device-specific extras, lies the same open-source foundation of Android, the Android Open Source Project. To help us all better understand that foundation, Google has made it possible to browse and search through Android Open Source Project code in a way that makes sense.
Today is the Flutter Interact event in New York City, where Google is unveiling the latest advancements for their app development software Flutter. This year, Flutter’s focus is to expand on Google’s company-wide push for “ambient computing” by supporting more platforms like macOS.
The flagship game for Google Stadia, Destiny 2, received a significant update today with “Season of Dawn,” and Stadia players are able to immediately jump into the fun — without patching!
Yesterday, Google unveiled its first proper “feature drop” for Pixel phones, bringing a variety of new Pixel-specific features to apps like Google Duo. Another new feature has begun to become available for Google Duo, regardless of if you use a Pixel phone, in the form of portrait blur.
Last month, Google unveiled plans to bring RCS to all Android phones in the United States, scheduled to roll out over the following weeks. Today, a new update to Carrier Services seems to immediately enable RCS on some Android devices, including Google Pixel phones.
This morning’s Google Doodle introduces you to the fun of Mexico’s colorful card game, Lotería, teaches you how to play, and lets you play with others online.
In this week’s top stories: the Google Recorder app arrives for Pixel 3 and other older Pixels, the December 2019 security patch is released for Pixel phones, some Pixel 4 phones were hand-delivered in Domino’s Pizza boxes, and more.
Google’s Advanced Protection Program, an initiative to help protect the Google Accounts of those who are “most at risk,” may be getting a new protection feature on Android devices to block sideloading, according to the latest Play Store update.
Google’s Flutter SDK lets you create apps for Android, iOS, desktop, smart displays, and even the web. Thanks to that web support, it’s now possible to try out Flutter in the DartPad web app and get started making apps with nothing more than your browser!
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday already behind us, without a doubt, we’re deep in the holiday shopping season. This year, Google is pushing hard for you to buy Google Stadia as a holiday gift for your loved ones, but is that really a good idea?
Of the 22 games currently available for Google Stadia, you shouldn’t buy one of them, Final Fantasy XV, just yet, due to a major issue with saving your progress.
Google uses the Pixel Tips app to introduce you to the latest features of your Pixel phone. Today, the app has been updated with new information about upcoming features for Google Pixel phones, like Cards & Passes, automatic Call Screen, and portrait mode in Google Photos, along with some that are already beginning to arrive, like the Recorder app for older Pixels.
Every year at CES, companies unveil their latest smart home products and gadgets, taking common household items and connecting them to the Google Assistant. Ahead of CES 2020, the Google Assistant’s developer pages have been updated to include a wide variety of new smart home devices, furniture, and appliances for the bedroom, kitchen, and beyond.
Across all of the advertising for Google Stadia, the one game featured more than any other is Destiny 2: The Collection. We’ve now learned that Destiny 2 will continue to be a free game for future Stadia Pro members, but what does that mean for Stadia Base players, come February?
One of Google’s simpler services is Google Tasks, which offers traditional to-do lists that are synced across your devices with your Google Account. However, while Google Tasks has a convenient app for Android and iOS, the only way to access it from the web is from the sidebar of other Google apps like Gmail. A third-party developer has created an alternative way to access Google Tasks in full-screen on your laptop, desktop or Chromebook.
After the relative failure of the Pixel Slate and Google’s public decision to stop creating tablets, many thought that was the end of Chrome OS tablets. Defying that notion, it seems Lenovo has a Chrome OS tablet in the works for the near future, and they were looking for testers to try it out.