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.
Yesterday
Recording and sharing is a big part of gaming today, but Google’s first stab at the functionality is quite rudimentary. Stadia Captures are now beginning to roll out to the web with the ability to download.
After a delay of approximately three weeks, Chrome OS 80 is beginning to roll out. Google this morning detailed headlining features like Ambient EQ for Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook, but there are a slew of other changes.
Last Friday, it emerged that a Googler in Zurich tested positive for COVID-19. An employee in Dublin today has come down with “flu-like symptoms,” and Google is exercising an “abundance of caution” due to the coronavirus by instructing staff to work from home on Tuesday.
In addition to the second Pixel Feature Drop, this month’s security patch addresses a number of user-facing bugs. Several of the March updates are exclusive to the Pixel 4, but the majority apply to all supported generations of Made by Google phones.
The latest Android 10 update for the Pixel 2, Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 4 is rolling out today, but somewhat overshadowed by the Android 11 Developer Preview. The March security patch contains the second Pixel Feature Drop.
Last December, Google introduced the inaugural “Feature Drop” to make its phones “more helpful.” The second Pixel Feature Drop — which we’ve been expecting — coincides with the March security patch, and sees some hotly-awaited features like Cards & Passes, more Motion Sense gestures, and a slew of other fixes.
Ambient EQ display will come to more Chromebooks, Netflix app gains Chrome OS PiP
With recent releases, Google has been better at covering major Chrome OS features. For March, the company detailed Ambient EQ introduced on the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook and confirmed that it’s coming to other Chromebooks, while Netflix for Android now supports picture-in-picture.
March 1
Notable X projects include self-driving cars, delivery drones, and internet balloons. Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory is now taking another stab at helping the environment with Tidal — a “moonshot to protect the ocean and feed humanity sustainably.”
Following last week’s big expansion to Samsung, Asus, and Razer phones, Google today announced three new Stadia Pro games for March 2020.
February 29
Launched October 2018, Made by Google’s first (and only) Chrome OS tablet was not a successful product, with the company taking corrective steps and eventually offering deep discounts. The Pixel Slate now looks to be getting a permanent price cut, especially on the higher-end models.
On Thursday, YouTube TV announced that it was going to lose Fox Regional Sports Networks over contract disputes with Sinclair. The deadline was today, but a temporary extension sees those channels still available as both parties “work to reach an agreement.”
February 28
On Friday afternoon, the Game Developers Conference was officially postponed. A seperate Google for Games Developer Summit — featuring Stadia — set to coincide with GDC will now be a “digital experience” in light of the coronavirus.
In recent weeks, more information about the Surface Duo has trickled out as Microsoft lets developers prepare third-party apps. A new report today suggests that the Android Foldable might launch sooner than the previous holiday 2020 timeframe announced last October.
February 27
At the start of this week, the highly-awaited power button shortcut for quick access to Google Pay began appearing on some Google devices. “Cards & Passes” now looks to be widely rolling out to Pixel phones running the Android 11 Developer Preview.
The latest update to Stadia for Android is rolling out with a handful of tweaks. There are no major changes in version 2.7, but game details are now easier to browse and there is a new cancellation survey for Stadia Pro.
Google Fi already using T-Mobile’s 5G network on supported phones
Last February, Google announced an expansion of its MVNO partnership with Sprint to include 5G. Google Fi now looks to already be leveraging T-Mobile’s 5G network on devices like the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.
YouTube TV this morning announced that a contract dispute with the Sinclair Broadcast Group will see the cord-cutting service lose the Fox Regional Sports Networks. Starting Sunday, those channels — along with the YES Network — will no longer be offered.
PayPal migrating ‘key portions’ of its infrastructure to Google Cloud
Google’s cloud business is a distant third behind Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure. A multi-year contract announced today sees Google Cloud net PayPal as an even larger customer, in part due to a new Salt Lake City cloud region.
