Send tips/talk to abner@9to5mac.com or @technacity (open DMs).
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.
A big area of interest is Google’s hardware division, including Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest. He detailed all of the Pixel 3’s camera features before launch and scooped the 2nd-generation Nest Hub’s Soli-powered Sleep Sensing capability, including how it would integrate with Google Fit.
Recently, Abner detailed the Pixel Watch’s specs in full before launch, including bands and pricing. He also got wind of the Pixel Tablet’s ultimate form factor.
Google sent an email to customers today thanking Gemini for Home early access testers for their feedback, and laying the groundwork for the upcoming Google Home Speaker.
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With Android 17 QPR1 Beta 4 today, Google is rolling out a much needed update that addresses various bugs from the last big release.
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After the big release at I/O 2026 last month, Google is rolling out Android 17 QPR1 Beta 4 for Pixel devices.
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After testing got underway last year, YouTube is now more widely rolling out a new in-app messaging system. The aim is to let people “connect over their favorite videos directly on YouTube.”
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As of Wednesday morning (PT), the Gemini app is facing an outage for some users.
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Google today announced two features that make the Gemini app a more powerful tool for business owners.
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Following the Now Playing redesign in April, the next big YouTube Music change moves Search to the bottom bar.
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Following the last expansion to the Asia Pacific region, Google is bringing Gemini in Chrome to Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.
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With the new Workspace icons fully rolled out, Google is now tweaking how Chat appears in the Android status bar to look less like Messages.
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Ahead of the summer travel season, Google Fi Wireless is boosting its international capabilities across five areas.
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Google today announced Gemini 3.5 Live Translate as its latest model for live speech-to-speech translation.
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The first Google TV Streamer update of 2026 is beginning to roll out six months into the year.
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At WWDC 2026, Apple announced Siri AI and a new wave of Apple Intelligence features powered by Gemini at the underlying level.
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Google announced today that its AI Plus subscription is getting a price drop to $4.99 per month and now includes 400 GB of storage.
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Google is giving NotebookLM a big upgrade today across the underlying models, outputs, and research made possible by Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity.
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Following the big Neural Expressive redesign at I/O 2026 last month, Google is rolling out some tweaks to the Gemini overlay on Android.
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After testing in March, Google Messages is now rolling out a new “Tap to draft” behavior for Smart Replies that helps prevent accidental sends.
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The Gemini app’s latest first-party integration is with Google Contacts to provide “personalized insights and responses based on your contacts.”
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With the Google Home Speaker likely shipping this month, the Nest Mini and Nest Audio are now out of stock on the Google Store.
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The first big update (version 5.01) to the Google Health app is beginning to roll out with 16 additions and fixes to improve on the initial redesign.
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Google Keep on Android is getting some tweaks to the FAB (floating action button) ahead of its new AI voice feature coming this summer.
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Google has completely rolled out its new gradient Workspace icons on Android, iOS, and the web.
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The Workspace team is finally getting around to updating the Google Tasks widget on Android with Material 3 Expressive.
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Gboard introduced a Material 3 Expressive redesign of shortcuts in January that is now seeing wider availability for beta users.
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