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.
Verizon introduced “myPlan” last year to let you pick and choose plan features/perks, and an update today adds YouTube Premium at a discount.
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For the past several years, Google Search and Maps has offered a Business Messages capability that lets customers reach out to stores, restaurants, etc. via text chat. This is now shutting down in July.
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On Monday, internal documents describing what factors Google Search takes into consideration when ranking and displaying web results leaked.
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Ahead of Ask Photos this summer, Google has removed the “Things” carousel from the Search tab in Photos for Android and iOS.
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Underneath the Search bar and its suggestions, Google shows a carousel of cards for the weather, AQI, sports, and more. The Google app is now redesigning the card carousel that makes up “your space.”
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Following initial testing last year, YouTube is expanding its “Playables” on Android, iOS, and the web.
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As teased in October of 2023 and spotted at I/O 2024, the Google Home app on Android is getting ready to add a homescreen widget called “Favorites.”
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After beta testing, Pocket Casts is rolling out a handful of updates on Android, including new widgets and a redesign of the homescreen.
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In announcing the latest Chromebook Plus features and devices, Google today also previewed what’s coming next to ChromeOS.
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Google announced Chromebook Plus in October and the next set of software features — both AI and nice quality-of-life additions to ChromeOS — and hardware are here. The highlight is how buying Chromebook Plus will get you 12 free months of Google One AI Premium, while Plus hardware now starts at $349 (from $399).
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In recent weeks, GIFs sent by iPhone users to Android devices running Google Messages have turned into distorted still images with missing dots/pixels throughout.
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Back in December, Google started rolling out a dedicated “Weather” icon that appeared in the app grid on Pixel phones and tablets. In recent days, this shortcut has been removed.
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At I/O 2024, “Chromecast built-in” was quietly rebranded to “Google Cast.” Notably, this is reversing a branding change made in 2016.
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Chrome for iPhone and iPad has introduced a big quality-of-life improvement with the ability to customize the menu bar.
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In July of 2023, Google’s switch from Samsung to TSMC for the Tensor G5 was definitively reported, and additional confirmation today shows that work towards the Pixel 10 is continuing.
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Following the announcement at I/O 2024, Gemini in Google Messages has been widely rolling out to stable users over the past few days. It joins recent launches like Gemini 1.5 Pro in Gemini Advanced and the YouTube Music Gemini Extension.
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Gemini-powered Ask Photos is coming to Google Photos this summer, and the company this week shared a bit more about how it works.
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Welcome to the eleventh episode of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, we talk about the Android news at Google I/O 2024 and Android 15 Beta 2.
It was the addition of a “Notifications” tab this week that broke the camel’s back for me. The Google app on Android is in desperate need of a redesign.
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After a big outage spanning multiple Meta apps in early April, Instagram is facing some issues this afternoon on Android and iOS.
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Google Fi’s top plan already includes 100 GB of Google One storage, and the MVNO is now offering Unlimited Plus subscribers a free two-month trial to AI Premium.
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Google is rolling out a refreshed “Updates” inbox to Gmail for Android and iOS that aims to help users “focus on the emails that matter most.”
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With the single-line text field more widely rolling out, Google Messages is testing a possible “flat” design tweak to the app bar.
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The latest addition to the carousel at the top of Google Discover is a card for Sunrise and Sunset.
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