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.
This year, Gmail on the web has undergone two big updates and the integrated redesign with Material You is now set to fully replace the previous iteration.
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Following the announcement last month, the Google Home app Public Preview is beginning to go live.
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Google is rolling out the first update to the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro today with the Android 13 November security patch, while the supported devices list now starts with the Pixel 4a.
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Following yesterday’s security patch, the monthly drop of new Curated Culture wallpapers for Google Pixel owners is back on track in November.
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Fitbit on Friday previewed what’s to come besides the “premium” Wear OS smartwatch that it teased last year. In addition to that, a new report reveals work on “Project Eleven” to create a Fitbit-branded kids wearable with cellular.
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For some, if not most, Gboard’s emoji picker is likely one of their most heavily used interfaces on their phone, and Google is redesigning it today.
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Google Fi has long sold SIM cards at physical and online retailers, and Amazon is now offering those kits, which include a month of service, at a discount.
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The watch faces Google made for the Pixel Watch are rather nice, but existing Wear OS owners might just use their existing favorites. In doing so, some have found that watch faces not using the latest development practices don’t fully support the Pixel Watch’s always-on display (AOD).
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Following the last release coming earlier than expected, Google is rolling out Android 13 QPR1 Beta 3.1 to Pixel phones today.
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With the November security patch, the first Pixel 7 and 7 Pro update is rolling out with three fixes in a relatively quiet release.
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YouTube announced today that it’s bringing Shorts to TV screens with a player that’s optimized for the big screen.
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Google previewed that a number of new features are coming to Messages last month, but one that didn’t get highlighted is a new photo picker that’s starting to appear for some users.
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In late June, Google’s partnership with iFixit to make available genuine components for the Pixel 2-6 went live. iFixit now sells repair parts for the Pixel 6a.
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Former President Barack Obama is a known Fitbit owner having used the Surge for several years before switching and continuing to use the Ionic.
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The Pixel Watch was most people’s first introduction — $1,300 wearable aside — to “stock” Wear OS 3, with the Fossil Gen 6 update rolling out shortly after. Now that more people have had time to use it, what do you think about Wear OS 3’s core UI and navigation?
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Just over three years ago, Google announced it was acquiring Fitbit and a blog post from the brand today previewed what’s coming next.
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YouTube Music’s Home tab just consists of various carousels, but the app is now testing a prominent playlist card that does a better job of standing out.
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At the start of August, Google replaced the Duo logo with Meet’s four-colored icon only to bring it back due to user confusion. With the latest update to Google Meet, the Duo icon is once again gone on Android.
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Google Assistant is using on-device “Personalized speech recognition” on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro to get “better at recognizing your unique speaking style, words, and phrases.”
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At I/O 2022 in May, Google announced “My Ad Center” to let you control advertising by topic and brand. It’s now starting to roll out with a rather bold approach that might get people to interact with advertising more by letting them customize it directly. Once live in the coming weeks, My Ad Center will offer an app-like (think: topics and interests in Google News or Discover) level of customization.
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Google this morning rolled out an update to the “Google Wi-Fi Provisioner” app and made it available via the Play Store in the process for faster releases.
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Back in April of 2016, Google updated Calendar for Android and iOS with a tool to help you find time for personal goals. Amid another upcoming removal, Google Calendar is planning to get rid of “Goals.”
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After Android apps and the cloud, Steam is the third way you can play games on ChromeOS. Steam is now entering beta and supporting several more Chromebooks.
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Google is introducing a new “app quality bar” for the Play Store to give more prominence to higher-quality titles.
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