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.
We’ve had Pixel phones leak in the back of rideshares and various forms of public transit, but the latest pre-release look at the Pixel 9a comes from a separate leak about the Galaxy S25 Edge.
Google Messages has redesigned the UI for taking and sending pictures that permanently merges a live camera viewfinder with your gallery. As part of this, Google is also rolling out the ability to send pictures and videos in “Original quality.”
Welcome to episode 42 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, we talk about the iPhone 16e (and how it compares to the Pixel 9a), OnePlus Watch 3, and Android 16 Beta 2.
In addition to “Sleep insights & tips,” Fitbit Labs is preparing a new opt-in “Sleep need” experiment that will find your “ideal bedtime and wake times.”
Google announced today that “document upload is now available to all Gemini users” using the web, Android, and iOS apps. This started rolling out last week.
The Google Home app is finally adding the ability to double-tap to quick seek through camera history. This is currently part of the Public Preview program.
Google is more deeply integrating Lens visual search into Chrome for iOS with a new Screen Search capability that takes after Circle to Search on Android. Meanwhile, Google Lens can now recognize more unique images.
At the end of 2023, Google Calendar gained a fullscreen Tasks interface on the web. That experience is now available as a standalone Google Tasks website.