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.
The Chromecast with Google TV offers a good user interface and experience but is rather hampered by only 8GB of storage. We, along with many others, have complained about this hardware limitation, and Google Support now offers a basic how-to on what to do “if you run out of storage on your Chromecast with Google TV.”
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Google Home devices have long let users place phone calls with just their voice. An upcoming Assistant change will restrict that calling capability to numbers saved in your Google Contacts.
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The Google Photos “Your memories” widget introduced in August is set to get a Material You upgrade that will let you customize the shape, just like in the Pixel 6 promo videos.
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In the past, Google has offered free Assistant speakers to existing subscribers and prospective members of its subscription storage service. The latest Google One promo involves upgrading to a 2TB annual plan for a free Nest Hub (2nd-gen).
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The November security patch is rolling out now to all supported Pixel phones – the 3/XL is currently dropped – as the first update to Android 12. Pixel 6 and 6 Pro owners received the November update last week, but Google is only today detailing what’s included.
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The first update to Android 12 is rolling out today with the November security patch for the Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, and Pixel 6 Pro.
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As more people have received the Pixel 6 Pro in recent days, some have noticed a display flickering issue when the phone is powered off. Google has acknowledged the problem and says a fix is coming with the next update.
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In addition to readying a new “Google Weather Frog” option for clock faces, the Home companion app now has a redesigned UI when choosing albums for your Nest Hub Photo Frame.
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In May, the Weather Frog clock face rolled out to the first-generation Nest Hub and Hub Max, and Google now appears to be combining the adorable character, weather, and photos into one clock face.
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Earlier this year, the unified Gmail web client replaced the Material Theme “Compose” button. Google is now reverting that decision following user feedback.
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Over the past year, Google and Jio have been working on an “affordable smartphone for India” with more capabilities emerging in June. The JioPhone Next will now be available during Diwali, with Google detailing even more about the $86 device.
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Following last week’s initial tweet parade during the Pixel 6 launch event, Google today gave another look at new Material You widgets for Android 12.
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Back in October, Google announced that its Google One storage subscription was adding a built-in VPN option. The Google One VPN is now seeing an expansion in North America and five European countries.
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Google Research today announced a next-generation AI architecture called “Pathways.” This “new way of thinking about AI” is meant to address current “weaknesses of existing systems.”
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In time for Android 12 and the Pixel 6’s launch, many of Google’s biggest apps have already been updated to Material You. At the 2021 Android Dev Summit, Google fully detailed Material Design 3 and showed off the updated UI components that developers can use to build their apps.
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With the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro now officially available, Google today released Android 12 factory images for both phones.
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In addition to blocking spam and offering a built-in VPN, Google Fi will soon gain end-to-end encrypted voice calls. There are, however, some notable requirements to use this capability.
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Fitbit OS 5.3 is rolling out as a smaller update for the Sense and Versa 3 that introduces status indicators. It follows the bigger release in June that added audible Google Assistant responses and better clock face switching.
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The Pixel 6 has introduced a centralized settings page to manage your phone, app, and Google Account. This Security “Hub” is now appearing on older Pixel phones running Android 12.
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The focus of Android 12L is on tablets and foldables, but the release is also coming to phones and Google is introducing Unicode 14 emoji support with it.
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In addition to the camera today, Google is detailing the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro’s security features that are based in software and Tensor hardware.
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Google today announced Android 12L as a release focused on tablets, foldables, and other large-screen form factors. It’s also coming to phones, and the company today provided a timeline for the Android 12L Developer Preview and Beta.
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At the 2021 Android Dev Summit, Google announced Android 12L as a “feature drop” for foldables, tablets, and Chrome OS, but it will also be coming to phones, and Pixel devices – in the future – can sign-up for a Beta.
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Android 12’s public rollout (for Pixel phones) started last week and that normally serves as the operating system’s big release for the year. In 2021, Google is doing something different and announced “Android 12L” for foldables, tablets, and Chrome OS today.
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