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.
Thanks to an expanded partnership, those subscribed to Frontier can now directly pay for YouTube TV and get a discount in the process.
Expand Expanding Close
Earlier this week, Adaptive Charging was updated with a status notification and a one-time off button. In the process, Google might have updated Pixel Adaptive Charging to no longer require an alarm to work.
Expand Expanding Close
The “Google Wallpapers” app launched on the Play Store in 2016 for all Android devices, and this collection recently gained a handful of new backgrounds.
Expand Expanding Close
Following a redesign of the notes feed in December, Google Keep for Wear OS now offers two watch face complications.
Expand Expanding Close
Pixel Adaptive Charging has been a contentious feature since it launched in December of 2020, and Google is now updating it with a notification to note when it’s active.
Expand Expanding Close
9to5Google has a rebooted newsletter that highlights the biggest Google stories with added commentary and other tidbits. Sign up to get it early in your inbox, or continue reading 9to5Google Log Out below:
Expand Expanding Close
Following the black dark theme and other video player updates in October, YouTube today detailed why and how it redesigned over 450 system UI and topic channel avatar icons.
Expand Expanding Close
Google’s large screen optimization push continues with the Search app adopting a navigation rail on tablets, though it’s clearly early days.
Expand Expanding Close
With spring starting on Monday, YouTube Music is now rolling out its 2022-3 Winter Recap with some changes compared to previous seasonal recaps.
Expand Expanding Close
Design-wise, Google has already shown off a lot about the Pixel Tablet. The latest leak goes in-depth on its “Stand,” while here are some details about the Pixel Tablet’s “Hub Mode.”
Expand Expanding Close
Large language models (LLMs), like Google Bard, are trained on “trillions of words” to learn how humans talk and predict/generate the next words in a sentence that make for a good response. However, this technology is not actually aware of what’s factually correct. Given the newness of it, some are – understandably – not yet aware of this fact. In the case of Bard, one particular phenomenon that has occurred days, if not hours, after the early access launch is that people are equating its responses with official Google news and announcements.
Expand Expanding Close
The latest version of Google Camera brings faster Night Sight to the Pixel 6/Pro and reveals work on the Pixel 8 Pro. Google Camera 8.8 also tweaks the zoom UI on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.
Expand Expanding Close
Following last week’s announcement, here’s an early look at generative AI in Gmail for Android, with Google possibly beginning testing with a limited feature set.
Expand Expanding Close
In recent days, Google TV has been showing a “Personalized ads update” on televisions and streaming devices.
Expand Expanding Close
Following last month’s announcement, Google Translate for iPhone has received a Material You redesign.
Expand Expanding Close
The latest addition to YouTube Music is a carousel in the Home feed that surfaces “Covers and remixes” of songs you’ve listened to.
Expand Expanding Close
Google has rolled out a number of navigation-related tweaks to the Search app on iOS that aim to simplify the app, while deemphasizing Collections.
Expand Expanding Close
Following its big Material You redesign, Google Docs is adding more customization options for tables of contents, as well as better formatting options for all other tables.
Expand Expanding Close
9to5Google has a rebooted newsletter that highlights the biggest Google stories with added commentary and other tidbits. Sign up to get it early in your inbox, or continue reading 9to5Google Log Out below:
Expand Expanding Close
Following this morning’s expansion, Google is heavily using its Pixel, Nest, and other consumer-facing brands to invite people to use Bard.
Expand Expanding Close
The conversational aspects of generative AI and large language models (LLMs), like LaMDA, make it ripe for smart assistants. Google specifically mentioned Assistant two years ago as a product where it hopes to incorporate “better conversational features.” That has yet to happen, but the Google Assistant team is helping lead Bard development.
Expand Expanding Close
Google announced the Pixel Watch March 2023 update yesterday, and you can now download and install it using the usual trick.
Expand Expanding Close
In recent days, Chrome has added your past search queries to the New Tab Page on Android so that they appear alongside frequently visited sites.
Expand Expanding Close
Google released Android 13 QPR3 Beta 1 last week to kick off a new, unexpected preview cycle and is now asking for more detailed survey feedback.
Expand Expanding Close