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.
Back in September of 2021, Gmail gained a new “Google Illustrations” tool that lets you create a custom profile pic, and it’s now available in Google Contacts.
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Besides the new icon, Google Contacts has seen quite a few changes in the past year, and the latest is a new “Highlights” tab.
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When the 2nd-gen Nest Hub was announced in March of 2021, Google said Sleep Sensing would eventually become a paid feature. After previously targeting 2023, sleep tracking will now be free for another year.
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The YouTube mobile apps and website have reopened comments on the auto-generated videos that are created for music.
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The US Google Store and other retailers are kicking off its final sale for the holidays with a return of Black Friday discounts, like a $299 Pixel Watch and $749 Pixel 7 Pro.
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Ahead of availability on Netflix next month, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is currently in theaters for a limited one-week release. It’s a nuanced film, but one of the more clever things was how Rian Johnson escaped something that the director said was “gonna screw [him] on the next mystery movie. Some spoilers about Glass Onion below.
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As previously hinted, YouTube Music is getting live lyrics as part of a tweaked Casting UI that some users have already received.
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ChatGPT’s ability to respond to questions in a conversational and direct manner has led some to proclaim that AI chat will kill the traditional search engine. Google is seriously responding to this, and – from what it’s already shown off – should be more than able to compete. The question is the user experience.
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Hardware development spans years into the future, so today’s leak describing the Google Pixel roadmap into 2025 is right on track. If Google sticks to it, barring disruptions, the next three years of Pixel phones reveals Google’s desire to offer a range of devices that more than mimics the iPhone in terms of variety.
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It’s been well over a year since Google gave Quick Settings a big Material You overhaul with Android 12. Initial impressions were centered around the sparseness of the new UI, but now that more time has passed, what do you think of Quick Settings?
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Google is at a “code red” and seriously responding to ChatGPT by reassigning various departments “to help develop and release new A.I. prototypes and products.”
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After quickly going out of stock in October, the Pixel Watch charger is available for purchase again from the US Google Store.
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Sense 2 and Versa 4 owners can now download Google Maps for Fitbit, but the actual step-by-step navigation does not currently work.
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As of last week, Twitter looks to have dropped support for text message two-factor authentication (2FA) using Google Voice numbers.
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Following the new app and Sun tile for Wear OS 3, Google has rolled out a redesign of the weather card available in Search on the mobile web.
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With the current DirecTV contract expiring at the end of this season, various streaming services have been in talks with the NFL for the rights to Sunday Ticket. Google is now poised to win the NFL Sunday Ticket for YouTube.
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To close out the December Feature Drop, Google is now rolling out the combined Security & privacy settings for Pixel phones running Android 13 QPR1.
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The Play Store already lets parents approve or decline purchases made by kids in their family, and Google is now adding “Purchase Requests” for accounts without a family payment method.
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Google’s biggest apps already feature the main elements of Material You but additional aspects are now making their way through, with Docs, Sheets, and Slides using the new toggle design.
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Back in June, Google announced that third-party Assistant voice apps and Nest Hub games would be going away in 2023. Third-party developers, like Todoist, are starting to shut down their broader integration and go Android-only.
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Following Wallet support and the first update last month, Fitbit is getting ready to launch Google Maps on the Sense 2 and Versa 4.
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Since 2020, the Active Zone Minutes (AZMs) stat has been one of the main things that Fitbit encourages users to meet, and new research shows the outcomes of hitting those goals.
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The height of — what I deemed — an Assistant takeover was when “Google Assistant” got listed after Android in the “Operating System” section of the Pixel 3’s tech specs. A few years later, things have changed and the clear trend for Google Assistant in 2022 is one of retreat.
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In what’s no longer a surprising occurrence for unreleased Google hardware, a leak of the Pixel Tablet and its Charging Speaker Dock has surfaced on Facebook Marketplace.
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