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.
When YouTube TV brought surround sound to Google/Android TV and Roku earlier this month, Google said it was working to expand availability, and 5.1 audio is now available on some Amazon Fire TV devices.
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Back in October, Google Search on Android and iOS introduced a simple “Word of the day” notification that now lets you select a different difficulty level.
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In addition to Imagen, Google has another text-to-image generator called Parti that also strives for photorealism but by using a different family of generative models.
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Announced in March as part of a flurry of updates, the Google Home app has now widely rolled out the new events Feed tab.
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As Pride month continues, Google is adding support for an LGBTQ+ owned attribute to Business Profiles that appear in Search and Maps.
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To mark its 20th anniversary this year, Google News on desktop is getting a redesign today that focuses on customization by “bringing Top stories, Local news, and personalized picks for you to the top of the page.”
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As announced in March, Google Play users on Android are starting to see the Movies & TV store disappear from the app.
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Made by Google took to social media today to remind prospective buyers that pre-orders for the Pixel 6a and Pixel Buds Pro open in one month’s time. Meanwhile, another video hands-on of Google’s upcoming mid-range phone has found its way onto YouTube.
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Best Buy has sold Google Fi SIM cards since 2019, and a monthlong promo sees new in-store or online activations come with a $100 bill credit.
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After the main release and two patches, Google is now asking for feedback on Android 13 Beta 3 in a survey that’s slightly different from past versions by focusing on the search experience.
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The technology industry (Apple, Google, Microsoft) ultimately wants to get rid of passwords with passkeys. Until then, the Google Password Manager is starting to offer on-device encryption so that “only you can see your passwords.”
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Next to Keep, Google Workspace offers its own to-do app that’s integrated with first-party services like Gmail and Chat. Google Tasks is now adding the ability to star especially important reminders on the Android, iOS, and web apps.
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Software updates to Google and Nest Wifi happen pretty irregularly and occur in the background when they do, with no end user interaction required. The last Google/Nest Wifi update — 22Q1 (M94) — from March went relatively under the radar, and here are the release notes.
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At the start of this month, it emerged that Google Assistant is losing the ability to set both location-based and assigned reminders. A bigger change looks to be underway as that old Assistant Reminders system in Google Calendar is being replaced by Google Tasks.
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In recent months, Google has been publicly pressuring Apple to adopt RCS on the iPhone, and its latest volley involves an “unofficial lyric explainer video” for “Texts Go Green” from Drake’s new album.
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In addition to releasing a Pixel update that enables VoLTE roaming this month, Google Fi — as an MVNO — is explaining “how the T-Mobile 3G shutdown affects your service.”
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Google last updated the Recorder app in March with Material You tweaks and a Quick Settings tile, as well as a curious landscape UI that looks awfully good on tablets. The Recorder website that lets you play audio from your Pixel also recently added the ability to control playback speed.
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In addition to a new “Add to playlist” UI for mobile, YouTube Music is testing “Recommended radios.” Compared to radio stations generated from a single song, this new offering looks to be compiled from multiple influences.
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For a patch, Android 13 Beta 3.2 contains many more changes than expected and we’re diving into everything new as a result.
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As previewed in March, Google Meet is updating its desktop experience in Chrome with picture-in-picture (PiP) and the ability to pin multiple video feeds.
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Google is rolling out Android 13 Beta 3.2 this afternoon, and it brings more user-facing changes, especially to the Pixel Launcher, than usual for a patch.
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Following a patch last Friday, Google is back with Android 13 Beta 3.2 today to fix more issues on Pixel phones.
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The Pixel Watch was officially teased at I/O 2022, and we’ve since published details on the processor and battery in recent weeks. 9to5Google can now report on Google’s plans for a rather extensive collection of Pixel Watch bands.
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Following the first release in late April, Google is now rolling out Privacy Sandbox Developer Preview 3 with APIs for conversion measurement, custom audiences, and ad selection.
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