About the Author
“It’s Google’s Alphabet’s world & we’re all just living in it.”
The above is Abner’s philosophy and why in his 6 years of writing about tech Google and Android has been the main focus.
He resides in Los Angeles.
Send tips to abner@9to5mac.com.
Email or Twitter @technacity if you want to discuss anything remotely Android or Google related with him.
Today
Google Glass today lives on as enterprise product for factories and other similar environments. The consumer-focussed Glass continues to work for Explorers that spent $1,500 from 2013 to 2015, but it surfaced today that many Google Glass features will be killed in February 2020.
Report: Magic Leap missed early sales target, Sundar Pichai no longer on board
Magic Leap is one of the most hyped augmented reality efforts today, and likely the best-funded startup. Its first headset shipped in August 2018, and a new report today pegs Magic Leap One shipments as not hitting sales targets.
With the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL especially, Google has focused on providing a good support experience. In addition to Pixel Tips, there are Google One Pro Sessions and how-to videos today cover key features for new Pixel 4 owners.
Google Assistant support for third-party note and list taking providers has been a long time coming. It’s finally here with integration for Google Keep and three other services rolling out today, while Assistant is picking up two voice capabilities for photos and podcasts.
December 5
At launch last month, browsing and purchasing games for Stadia was limited to the Android and iOS apps. Google today is bringing the Stadia Store online for desktops.
Over the past several weeks, gapless playback rolled out to some YouTube Music subscribers. The capability is now officially available for all Premium users on the Android app and web client.
Google’s Analytics newsroom dashboard integrates Google Trends topics
Back in March, Google released a useful Analytics-powered dashboard for newsrooms. Great on large screens, Realtime Content Insights (RCI) is now integrating trending topics from Google Trends.
Google Duo, WebRTC creator Justin Uberti now leading Stadia engineering in Seattle
Getting AAA games to stream over the internet is a monumental engineering effort that’s made possible by several years of advancements. One of those is WebRTC, and its creator is now joining Stadia to head engineering.
One year ago, Waymo launched a public self-driving ride service in Phoenix, Arizona. To mark that anniversary, Waymo One is getting an iOS app, while the Alphabet division shared usage details for the Lyft/Uber competitor.
Alphabet-owned DeepMind is widely regarded as the premiere artificial intelligence research lab. Co-founder Mustafa Suleyman announced today that he’s joining Google directly.
When getting a package tracking number, most people today just Google it, as the search engine has long been able to direct users to the correct shipping carrier’s site. Google Search package tracking could soon be directly integrated.
December 4
One of the most impressive features debuted alongside the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL was a Recorder app that works completely offline to transcribe and search text. It’s officially still exclusive to the 2019 devices, but Google said it plans to make Recorder available for older Pixel phones. The first step towards that is now here.
With Stadia just over two weeks old, Google is planning to advertise its new game streaming platform around the world next week. Stadia Holiday Pop-Ups are coming to Los Angeles, London, and Paris.
Google Fiber still exists today in 18 cities and continues to sign-up new customers. The ISP is now simplifying its service by no longer offering a 100 Mbps plan and committing entirely to gigabit Google Fiber speeds.
YouTube in recent years has been pushing its subscription services from Premium to TV. To boost sales this holiday season, the Google company is bringing YouTube gift codes to the US, starting with Amazon.
G Suite admins can now restrict security codes to same device, network
Two-factor authentication (2FA) — or 2-step verification (2SV) in Google’s parlance — is a crucial security measure. G Suite is now adding the ability to restrict codes to the same device or network on which they’re generated.
In addition to a free title every month, Stadia Pro offers discounts when purchasing games. Initial deals went live with the platform’s launch on November 19th and ended December 3rd. The day after, there are no immediate replacements.
December 3
Google Play this year rolled out a big Android redesign and corresponding dark theme. In October, we spotted work on a Material Theme account switcher and it’s now beginning to roll out alongside a new splash screen.
