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.
While Chrome has been visually refreshed over the years, Google has kept the core user experience intact to avoid “disorienting” users. Over the past few weeks, however, Chrome for Android has been testing a redesigned New Tab Page that changes quite a few things for the worse, but fortunately you can get back the old version.
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Following Apple Music’s redesign of its widgets, Beats for Android is adding some to let you quickly manage headphones from the homescreen, while the companion app is also getting a “Locate My Beats” capability.
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With the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival returning after a two-year absence, YouTube will be there to livestream both weekends of the 2022 event.
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Made by Google opened its first permanent retail store last June. Since then, Google Store Chelsea has hosted a number of events and April will see a handful of sessions, including one about making Pixel Planters for Earth Day.
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Back in December, Google made official a YouTube app on the Cast-powered Chromecast that can be controlled by a remote on your phone, but a bug is causing desktop Chrome users to also see the new UI.
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YouTube Music recently added an Explore shelf to the bottom of the Home feed that makes the dedicated page largely redundant. That said, YouTube Music’s latest addition of an album carousel to Explore suggests that the tab will stick around.
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As previewed last month, Google Chat on iOS will let you set which contacts can reach you in Focus mode. This applies to the dedicated Chat app and the integrated experience available in Gmail.
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Yesterday (April 14) was World Quantum Day, and the Google Quantum AI team marked the occasion with “The Qubit Game.” It’s meant to serve as a “different way to introduce people to the world of quantum computing.”
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Elon Musk started by tweeting out – if not demanding – Twitter feature requests/changes in a truly remarkable moment for technology and corporate governance. This led to a rejected board seat and this morning’s acquisition attempt, complete with “Plan B” if/when the board rejects. Decrees-by-tweet and hostile takeovers cannot be a sustainable way to run a product, and these events play into my long-held belief that Google should have bought Twitter years ago. It would have certainly been a more orthodox turn of events compared to what’s going to play out very publicly over the coming weeks.
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After first being spotted a month ago, the Google Contacts bottom bar redesign is now widely rolled out as the Android app now notes the date you added an individual.
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Last week, Google introduced Lens multisearch to let you ask questions about pictures on Android and iOS. The version of Google Lens included with desktop Chrome has now been updated to do more than just search for images.
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Ambient Computing, or the idea that technology should always be available in the background to help, is Google’s long-term goal for its hardware. “Little Signals” is a new Google experiment that imagines what shape Ambient Computing devices could take in the future.
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Last May, the original Nest Hub and Hub Max received an adorable new Photo Frame option. Google has now finally made the Weather Frog clock face available on the 2nd-gen Nest Hub.
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Google is now asking for feedback on Android 12 QPR3 Beta 2 from Pixel owners that installed the latest preview last week.
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As we reported at the start of this year, a tentatively named “Chromecast HD with Google TV” is in the works. It will presumably be cheaper than the existing $49.99 dongle and be closer in price to the $29.99 Chromecast. Once that new device launches, one interesting question is whether Google will still sell a streamer that is powered by its original Cast operating system?
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With the March Feature Drop, Google announced that At a Glance on Pixel was getting a handful of new capabilities. After a slow rollout that did not start until the end of last month, the new features should be more widely available today.
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As Google reportedly plans to release an AR headset in 2024, a new report reveals that Meta wants to release its first-generation augmented reality glasses that same year. One particularly surprising detail was how Meta’s AR glasses originally planned to use Fuchsia.
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In what has been an annual occurrence for the past several years, Google today detailed its US investment plan for 2022 that covers office and data center expansions, as well as ongoing work towards previously announced new locations.
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Google’s list of developments to YouTube Music in February and March is here and includes some notable additions (like to the radio algorithm) that weren’t already spotted.
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After discounting their existing plans last week, the Fi MVNO is doing the same for the entire Made by Google phone lineup, including a $399 Pixel 6.
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In October of 2020, one Nest Hub Max user managed to get an early look at “Blue Steel.” This capability lets you just gaze at your compatible Smart Display to trigger Google Assistant, and a launch under the name “Look and Talk” might be coming soon.
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As announced at the end of last month, Google Meet is now built into Docs, Sheets, and Slides with a prominent new button that’s rolling out from today.
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Today (April 11) is the 10th anniversary of Pebble’s Kickstarter debut. To mark the occasion, founder Eric Migicovsky published an explainer on what went wrong over the startup’s 5.5-year history.
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The “new” Google Pay was announced in November 2020 with two key tentpoles. Both have failed by all accounts, and the company said at the start of this year that Pay is next going to become a “comprehensive digital wallet.” That change has yet to materialize, but a new “Wallet” icon seen by 9to5Google could be the start of Google Pay’s future.
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