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.
In addition to rolling out a redesigned device grid, the Google Home app is getting new centralized Privacy settings to “help you learn about and manage your household activity data.”
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Besides announcing that the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are now certified for C-Band on Verizon with the March security patch, Google also revealed that its older devices will not be getting the same stateside support.
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After a two-week delay, Pixel 6 and 6 Pro owners today are starting to see the Android 12L update with the March Feature Drop roll out.
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Over the years, Sync for reddit has proven to be one of the platform’s best third-party clients by always adopting Google’s latest design language. Sync for reddit’s next big redesign brings Material You and a tablet UI.
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As classic Hangouts is set to go away for Workspace customers, Google continues to update Chat and Spaces with more capabilities. A small tweak sees Gmail for Android introduce new status bar icons that help differentiate notifications from Google Chat and Spaces.
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You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. The latest impression that Google wants to impart is that Android will power the wave of large screen devices to come. Besides proclamations, the biggest sign of Google’s commitment to this effort is Android 12L, a version of the mobile OS especially for foldables and tablets. It launched at the start of this month, but it has so far only been a drop in the ocean and feels like a missed opportunity for Google to make a big splash about where Android is heading.
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Google Maps is partially down this morning with the outage particularly impacting its website and APIs for third-party applications that use Google’s location services.
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Chrome on desktop has long offered the nifty ability to directly search other sites from the address bar. Google is making a pair of changes to Chrome Site search, including how you have to manually “activate” these shortcuts.
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As of today, we’ve primarily seen Wear OS 3 in the context of Samsung’s One UI on the Galaxy Watch 4. New screenshots of Wear OS 3 provide another sneak peek at what could be considered the stock Google experience.
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With the February security patch, many assumed that the Pixel 6 would be updated on the same day as all other Google phones going forward. Android 12L and the March Feature Drop obviously proved that was not the case, but the next Pixel 6 patch might be available on Monday.
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Battery life is something that can always improve, and Google is introducing a handful of battery-preserving measures in its next mobile OS version. The most notable is a system notification in Android 13 for apps with excessive background battery usage.
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Ahead of the first beta in April, Android 13 DP2 remains focussed on developers. With that in mind, we’re diving into today’s release of Developer Preview 2 to find what’s changed.
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The next update to Android 13 is here with Developer Preview 2 (DP2) rolling out for Pixel phones today. This should be the last release before beta-quality builds commence next month.
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Google offices worldwide can be quite unique and its latest building in Sunnyvale, California strived to be the “largest renovation project” in the world.
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Following the appearance of a Z Fold last week, Star Trek: Picard is now using Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3 to make a much more realistic Tricorder prop.
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With Android 12, the Pixel Launcher introduced a new “Search your phone” capability. Google is now testing search results from Google Photos in the Pixel Launcher on Android 13.
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At the start of March, Android 12L rolled out to Pixel phones and AOSP, while updates for Samsung and Microsoft devices are planned for this year. Lenovo is also on that list and yesterday released Android 12L Beta 3 for the Lenovo P12 Pro.
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The difficult SVD puzzle — if solved — reveals that Google will be hosting I/O 2022 on May 11–12. It’s another virtual event that will be free for all to participate in.
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Google is actively developing an operating system for AR hardware, and a deal to acquire microLED startup Raxium continues that work.
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Last year, Google announced that app ratings in the Play Store will be specific to each device type. The company is now continuing that work of improving the large screen experience by surfacing high-quality apps and warning about unoptimized ones .
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Historically, Google teases its annual developer conference at the end of January, but last year waited until April. The company this morning released the Google I/O 2022 puzzle that should reveal when the event takes place.
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In a rather amusing display of corporate sponsorship, Google is now an “Official Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team and the McLaren MX Extreme E Team” with the Android and Chrome logos making an appearance on F1 race cars.
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Google wants to leverage AI to help kids get a more “personal learning experience.” In the coming months, Google Classroom is getting a “practice sets” feature that surfaces assistance and other suggestions as students do the work.
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Over the past few months, the global supply chain has been heavily constrained resulting in long wait times and missing goods. Alphabet’s X moonshot factory wants to tackle that problem with Project Chorus.
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