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.
Apple-owned Shazam has just released a Chrome Extension that works to identify what’s playing in your “Netflix or YouTube video, that Soundcloud mix or in a Twitch streamed video game,” but it doesn’t work for all users just yet.
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Hiroshi Lockheimer oversees all of Google’s operating systems as Senior Vice President of Platforms and Ecosystems. In recent years, he has been very critical of Apple not supporting the RCS standard to make iOS messaging more interoperable with Android, and the latest salvo on iMessage is the harshest yet.
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Following yesterday’s announcement of changes to Speaker Groups and Assistant device set-up, Google has started to update its devices and applications. The latest version of the Google Home app no longer lets you use a phone’s physical volume button on the Media screen/player.
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Last week, Google unintentionally showed a storm warning meant for the Philippines worldwide. Following that incident, severe weather alerts in the Pixel Launcher’s At a Glance widget appear to have been disabled entirely.
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At the end of 2020, Google acquired a company that offers software to convert old PCs into Chrome OS-like devices. In one high-profile example, a Norwegian hotel chain turned to CloudReady to convert several thousand ransomware-locked Windows laptops into Chromebooks.
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Google, Apple, Meta, and various other companies believe that AR smart glasses will be the next major form factor after the smartphone. Humane, a secretive startup founded by ex-Apple employees, looks to have a different approach that involves what is essentially an Android-powered wearable camera that uses lasers to project a screen on any surface, including the palm of your hand.
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Google previewed a slew of new features coming to Chromebooks this year. Until then, Chrome OS 97 is rolling out today with a brand-new audio player as part of a broader tweak to the Gallery app.
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Following the US ITC ruling in favor of Sonos, Google this afternoon announced a series of changes to how Speaker Groups and its Assistant devices work.
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The US International Trade Commission today found that Google infringed on five Sonos patents relating to smart speakers and audio. This could lead to an import ban of Google speakers, phones, and Chromebooks that violate those patents.
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With the Pixel 4 and 2nd-gen Nest Hub, Soli finally launched after years for development. Google is now working with several partners on the Ripple open API standard to “accelerate the growth of applications for general purpose consumer radar.”
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For the past several years, Fitbit has used aggregated and anonymized user data to release global health stats. The 2021 year in review reveals that Fitbit users around the world slept 6.5 hours every night.
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In addition to new features for the regular Auto experience, Google is announcing several Android Automotive features at CES 2022, including a YouTube app.
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At CES 2022, Google is making a handful of audio-related announcements across Chromecast and Bluetooth headphones, including auto-switching on Android and Chromebooks.
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This year, Google wants to improve the cross-device experience across Android and Chrome. At CES 2022, Google previewed a slew of upcoming integrations for Chrome OS.
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Following a big 2021 for Wear OS, Google is continuing the momentum with the upcoming ability for watches to unlock Chrome OS and Android devices. On a similar front, Google is expanding what digital car keys can do this year.
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Back in December, it emerged that Google was developing an “Augmented Reality OS.” As the company’s efforts spin up, Meta has stopped work on its own equivalent VR/AR OS in favor of continuing to use Android.
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While the next Pixel 6 update is not arriving until later this month, Google today detailed what the January security patch addresses.
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Following last month’s big update, the Android 12 January security patch is rolling out today for the Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, and Pixel 5a. This update is not yet available for the Pixel 6 or 6 Pro.
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For the longest time, Google Photos has allowed users to control whether videos can automatically upload over cellular. A recent Google Photos for Android update quietly removed that particular video backup setting and replaced it with a “daily limit” that was first introduced in India.
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With the December (2021) Feature Drop, Google enabled the first use case for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) on the Pixel 6 Pro. As part of this, there’s now a settings toggle to enable/disable the chip.
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In mid-2019, Google introduced live previews for videos in the main timeline of the Photos app. This autoplay behavior in the Google Photos for Android grid can now be disabled.
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January 2022 will see Google add five games to Stadia Pro in a slight decrease from the previous drop to kick off the new year in gaming.
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Earlier this month, Google’s cord-cutting service and Disney resolved their dispute. YouTube TV is now set to lose a handful of minor channels before the new year begins.
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In recent years, Google has notoriously kept its work on augmented reality hardware secret. That has started to change recently, while a new report today provides explicit confirmation that “Google is working on a new iteration of smart glasses.”
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