Ahead of the holiday shopping season, Gmail is adding package tracking and delivery information in a glanceable manner.
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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.
Google launches Play Games for PC beta in the US with 50+ Android games
During The Game Awards last December, Google teased that it was bringing Android titles to Windows desktops. The Google Play Games PC beta is now launching in the US, Canada, and Mexico, as well as five other countries.
Expand Expanding CloseAI Test Kitchen adding text-to-image demos as Google releases short stories co-written with AI
Google announced AI Test Kitchen as a way to let people “learn about, experience, and give feedback on emerging AI technology.” First announced at I/O 2022 in May and rolled out in August, AI Test Kitchen “Season 2” was previewed today with a focus on text-to-image generators.
Expand Expanding CloseCheck the Google Home app for a possible 30% Nest Wifi Pro discount
Last week, Google emailed some Nest Wifi owners about a 30% Nest Wifi Pro discount, and the company is reaching out again through the Google Home app.
Expand Expanding CloseWith Health Connect, Google Fit shows Nest Hub Sleep Sensing next to Fitbit heart rate data
Over the last few days, Fitbit integration with Heart Connect has gone live. One helpful aspect of Heart Connect sync combines Nest Hub Sleep Sensing data with your Fitbit heart rate in Google Fit.
Expand Expanding ClosePixel 7 referral program launches with $100 Google Store credit for both parties
Besides boosted trade-ins, Google is launching a Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, as well as 6a, referral program where “you and a friend will both get a $100 Google Store credit.”
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Lens added to the google․com homepage
Google Lens will only become more important going forward, and one sign of that is its addition to the google.com homepage today.
Expand Expanding ClosePixel Recorder 4.0 rolling out: Playback speed controls and more precise sharing
Google released the last update to the Pixel’s Recorder app with Android 13 QPR1 Beta. The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro will launch with Recorder 4.0 with some nice usability tweaks, but a bigger multi-speaker support upgrade is coming later.
Expand Expanding CloseAt a Glance weather forecasts come to the Pixel 6
With the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, Google announced the latest At a Glance features. The Pixel 6 is now picking up daily weather forecasts in At a Glance on the lock and homescreen.
Expand Expanding CloseYouTube Primetime Channels let you subscribe to 30+ streaming services in one UI
As rumored in August, the main YouTube app is letting you subscribe directly to paid streaming services with what it calls “Primetime Channels” in the US.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Play Store opens voting for 2022’s best new Android app and game
As 2022 starts winding down, Google has now opened Users’ Choice voting on the Play Store for the best new Android app and game.
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Pixel 7 Pro durability test shows just how scratched the camera bar can get [Video]
The camera bar is the Pixel 7 Pro’s most striking design element and its highly polished nature is prone to scratches. To find out just how much, check out Jerry Rig Everything’s durability test.
Expand Expanding ClosePre-iPhone Google G1 renders reveal a lot of green and more physical buttons
The original Android team spent the weekend and today debunking some misconceptions about the operating system’s creation especially in relation to the iPhone. As part of that, Android co-founder Rich Miner shared an interesting pair of Google G1 renders that predate the iPhone.
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Google Play Store not showing ‘Recently updated’ Android apps again [U]
Google recently addressed an issue where version numbers disappeared from the Play Store, and a similar problem in that vein has now appeared involving the “Recently updated” list.
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Google Drive gets improved file access expiration functionality
For Google Workspace customers, Drive lets you set an expiration date when sharing files, and the capability is now picking up a pair of usability enhancements.
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Google Play Console gets first update in 3 years to support Pixel 7
Last week, Google highlighted the benefits of 64-bit only Android phones, but that comes at the expense of old apps no longer working. Google Play Console has now been updated to support the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.
Expand Expanding CloseFitbit for Android rolls out Health Connect support [Update: Active]
Following Samsung and Google Fit, Fitbit now supports Health Connect with version 3.69 widely rolling out this morning.
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Yes, the Google Play Store’s Update button got bigger
In recent weeks, the Play Store has picked up a handful of new multi-device features, and more are coming. A much smaller Google Play Store tweak sees the Update button get bigger.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle breaks down what Pixel Watch usage gets you 24 hours of battery life
Google officially says you can get 24 hours of battery life from the Pixel Watch’s 294 mAh battery and now provides an official breakdown of how it got to that number.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle prototyped iris scanning during the Pixel 2 era
Like any other hardware maker, Google goes through a lot of ideas before the final product, and one such exploration involved putting an iris scanner on the Pixel 2.
Expand Expanding CloseArm reportedly changing licensing model to prohibit custom GPUs and TPUs, could impact Google Tensor
Arm and Qualcomm are currently involved in a dispute over the latter’s acquisition of a chip company called Nuvia and subsequent work on new desktop (and server) chips. This lawsuit has revealed that Arm is apparently changing its licensing terms and business model so that what makes the Pixel’s Google Tensor chip unique and Samsung’s work on AMD GPUs might not be possible going forward.
Expand Expanding CloseChromeOS 107 rolling out: ‘Save desk for later’ & long-pressing physical keys for accents
After several months of quiet releases, ChromeOS 107 is rolling out with a handful of new features starting today.
Expand Expanding CloseThis could be a sneak peek at Pixel Tablet software in action
Earlier this month, Google revealed more about the Pixel Tablet, and several specs have emerged since the I/O 2022 tease. We might now have our first actual look at software running on the Pixel Tablet.
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[U: Coming back] Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are partially down
Following a bigger outage earlier in the week that saw WhatsApp users unable to send or receive messages, the Meta app, along with Facebook and Instagram, are partially down as of Friday afternoon.
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