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.
Just over four weeks ago, Google announced that Photos for Android and iOS would get pretty significant updates to two core parts of the app. That Google Photos redesign of the Library tab has now been delayed.
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Google Assistant for the Galaxy Watch 4 should be coming, or at least supported, with the next Samsung system update.
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Last year, Google started prominently showing air quality (AQI) data to Nest Hub and other Smart Display users. You can now also search for air quality on Google to get detailed information.
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For the past several years, Google has been making a big push to get developers to optimize their apps for large screens, including Chrome OS. The latest example sees Evernote update its Android app for Chromebooks.
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At the end of last month, Google started requiring Android apps distributed via the Play Store to use its payment service rather than letting developers continue to collect billing details directly. To follow those latest guidelines, YouTube Premium and YouTube TV now use Google Play Billing.
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YouTube Music has long been able to automatically download songs “based on your previous listening history” so that you always have a fresh collection of things to listen to when offline. A small YouTube Music tweak sees smart downloads get a new sparkle icon.
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The first near-final image of the Pixel Watch leaked today, and it provides our first look at what should be the final design of Google’s upcoming wearable.
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Over the past few years, Google has worked to clean up, boost privacy, and increase security on the Chrome Web Store. The latest effort introduces badges in the Chrome Web Store to better highlight high-quality extensions.
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The security industry, as organized by the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, has been working to replace passwords given people’s tendency to use weak ones or reuse them. Two-factor authentication (2FA) has helped to remedy that but the future is “passkeys,” with Android and Google readying support.
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Almost two years after the last revamp, the Google Store is getting a redesign that simplifies navigation and lays the groundwork for future products, most notably the Pixel Watch.
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While Google Chat does a great deal to modernize Hangouts, some similarities do remain. One of the more fun overlaps is easter eggs — appropriately — with all of the classic slash commands continuing to work in Google Chat.
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The latest Google One perk is a free Titan Security Key that lets you enable two-factor authentication (a.k.a. 2-Step Verification) on your online accounts.
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Google started rolling out Nearby Share in August of 2020 to Android devices as part of Play services. The native OS integration somewhat eclipsed a key aspect of the Files by Google, but Share is now prominently being highlighted again on Pixel devices.
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Back in October, Google Pixel became the “Official Fan Phone” of the NBA as part of a multi-year partnership. Ahead of the NBA Playoffs, Google this morning announced the “Pixel Arena” as an elaborate virtual game.
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For the privacy-conscious, the Camera and Mic access toggles that Google introduced with Android 12 can provide peace of mind, and are generally more convenient than disabling those permissions outright for an app. By design, they’re quite strict and can be overly so, with there being upsides to future versions of Android introducing more granularity.
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Branding is always remarkably revealing. When you open Gmail, the splash screen shows that it’s part of “Google Workspace.” That brand was introduced in 2020 and compared to G Suite makes very clear that Gmail, Meet, Chat, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Keep, and Voice help you be productive. People obviously utilize Gmail for work, but many more are using it in their personal lives, and that use case, as of late, has been somewhat ignored by Google. One way to address that lack of new innovation can be found in Gmail’s past: Inbox.
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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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