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 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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Ahead of the holiday shopping season, Gmail is adding package tracking and delivery information in a glanceable manner.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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Google Lens will only become more important going forward, and one sign of that is its addition to the google.com homepage today.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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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 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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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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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.
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Following Samsung and Google Fit, Fitbit now supports Health Connect with version 3.69 widely rolling out this morning.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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