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.
For the second time this month, Google has advertised on the Las Vegas Sphere. An active Google Cloud campaign this week follows Chrome ads on the Sphere during the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
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The best Pixel Watch 2 deal we’ve seen this Black Friday is $75 off from Google Fi. Planet Fitness is now offering members a $70 discount on Google’s latest wearable.
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The US Google Store will kick off its Black Friday 2023 discounts this Thursday (or a full week before Thanksgiving), with Pixel 8 and Fold discounts being the highlight.
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Google Assistant has been winding down or consolidating features, especially voice experiences, over the past year, and the latest victim is the whimsical “animal of the day” command.
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If you’re using a Pixel 8 Pro, be on the lookout today for an update to a new Google app called AI Core.
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“Media controls for Cast devices” have long appeared as a standard notification (as shown above), but they are now part of the Android 13+ media player.
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Android widgets are at a good place right now, thanks to Material You. Besides an uptick since Android 12, they look modern and provide functionality that complements the full app nicely. However, for the experience to really shine on the Pixel, Google needs to add the ability to stack and group widgets together so that you can access a lot more without taking up too much of your homescreen. Size is their one downside, and fitting in a widget often comes at the expense of app icons.
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Frankly, Google Search sticks out compared to all other Material You apps on Android, but it’s now testing a more compact homepage.
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While the Google Store is not discounting the Pixel Watch 2 for Black Friday, other retailers are now starting to. Following Google Fi earlier this week, Amazon currently has one specific model of the Pixel Watch 2 on discount.
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Some Pixel 8 Pro owners have noticed circular bumps in several places on the screen that look to be the result of something pressing up against the underside, which is soft and fragile, of the 6.7-inch OLED panel.
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Earlier this year, Google Contacts introduced a birthday reminder, and those notifications can now be set for all saved dates.
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Back in September, Google introduced Bard Extensions, and the one for YouTube can now understand what’s happening in a video.
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With the addition of Magic Compose, we noted how the Google Messages text field was getting too cluttered, but a redesign is now on the way, while each contact’s profile page is also getting overhauled.
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In the past month, Messages for Android rolled out a new homescreen that removed the top search field, and Google is now adding a camera shortcut to the app bar.
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Announced earlier this year, Google Meet is now leveraging gesture detection when you physically raise your hand to trigger the corresponding indicator.
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Less than a week after the initial release, Google is rolling out Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1.1 as a smaller bug fixer.
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I think the “Laser Ink” display is the most interesting part of Humane’s Ai – again, why is the ‘i’ lowercase – Pin, but it does look quite tedious to navigate.
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In addition to a new homepage and other UI tweaks, Google Drive on Android is rolling out a big redesign of the document scanner interface with more features.
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Available for all modern Pixel devices, Community Lens wallpapers are shot by Googlers and the collection has just been updated with 12 new backgrounds for 2023.
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The Google Nest Hub and Hub Max have seen more feature removals than additions in the past year. As we head into the holiday season, it’s worth asking whether the Nest Hub is a good buy in its current state.
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While there are no Google Store Black Friday deals for the Pixel Watch 2 LTE, Google Fi Wireless is offering a $75 discount.
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Google Messages has added a slew of new features in recent weeks, but some users are currently missing existing ones — message reminders and uploading video via Google Photos — in what’s hopefully a bug rather than permanent removals.
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With Android 14, Google removed the ability to long press an icon on the homescreen to quickly see notifications from that app.
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The Google Home app is adding a small but handy search feature to quickly find what Wi-Fi devices are on your network.
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