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.
Google this afternoon reported its Q4 2021 and fiscal year earnings. Right off the bat, CEO Sundar Pichai touted a “quarterly sales record for [its] Pixel phones, despite supply constraints.”
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Alphabet today announced Q4 2021 earnings with $75.32 billion in revenue. These numbers range from October to December, with the company also reporting fiscal year results.
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YouTube tends to overhaul its website and mobile apps component-by-component. The latest example of this is a big redesign, especially in fullscreen mode, of the video player in YouTube for Android.
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The year continues with February 2022 bringing seven games to Stadia Pro in an increase from the previous drop.
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As we spotted in November and following the latest push for RCS support on iPhone earlier this month, Google Messages is starting to roll out iMessage reactions in beta for Android users.
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While Google offers a bevy of discounts to attract prospective customers, only a handful ever apply to existing subscribers. Fortunately, one of them is a YouTube TV referral program that rewards both you and friends that join the cord-cutting service.
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The Pixel 4a will certainly go down as a beloved Google phone. With stock running low for months, the writing has been on the wall for this affordable Pixel from 2020. The Google Store today delisted the Pixel 4a.
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Google Lens today is primarily a visual lookup tool for mobile devices, but it’s been branching out to Chrome. The next expansion could see Google Search on the desktop web add Lens.
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After teasing last year, Google today finally detailed how the “new Gmail view” redesign is rolling out on the web over the coming weeks and months.
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Today is the last day that owners of the Pixel 3 and 3 XL can get unlimited backups in Google Photos at “Original quality.” It was quite a unique perk for Google’s first three phones that could have been a tremendous differentiator – economic realities aside – if continued.
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Google and Deutsche Telekom today announced an “expanded partnership” that covers RCS, Android TV, and cloud. On the consumer-facing front, Telekom Germany users will be getting access to RCS, while there’s a new MagentaTV One streaming device.
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Like last year, Fitbit has taken until the end of January to release a personalized “2021 Year in Review” based on your health and fitness metrics. Owners of the Google-owned wearables started receiving the email on Saturday.
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Android 12 introduces a Game Dashboard that’s currently exclusive to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Besides providing useful tools, Google is encouraging developers to take advantage of Game Mode API. Google Play is now listing games that are “optimized for Pixel 6.”
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Just over two weeks after the release for Pixel phones, Android 12L Beta 2 is now available on the Lenovo Tab P12 Pro.
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Sometime in the past year, Google looks to have formed a new “Android Tablets” initiative. In fact, one of Android’s cofounders rejoined the OS team to be part of that effort.
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With Android Automotive, Google maintains the underpinnings of the OS and various services, while car makers can fully customize the UI. That customization extends to third-party apps sporting some differences depending on the car brand.
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The migration from “G Suite legacy free edition” continues today with Google quietly noting that it will offer the ability to transfer “your non-Google Workspace paid content and most of your data to a no-cost option.”
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Besides the physical comic book that looks to have confirmed the “Pixel 6a” name, Google also made an online version to celebrate the “inspiration, beauty, and application of hardware colors developed” and used for its products.
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In recent days, some Pixel Superfans received a free Nest Audio (a not too thematic inclusion), Pixel 6 Pro socks, and coloring book. That last item of the care package looks to have inadvertently revealed that Google’s next phone will be named the “Pixel 6a.”
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In this past week alone, there’s been a flurry of developments around Google and buzzy, emerging technologies. The latest sees Google Cloud ramp up a digital assets division focused on helping other companies adopt the blockchain.
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First spotted in November with a wider rollout already underway, Google today made official the new “Offers” tab for the Play Store on Android.
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Last week, Google announced that all G Suite legacy free edition users will have to transition and start paying for Workspace starting in July. This has upset non-business users that signed up for G Suite 16 years ago with their domain, and Google is now reaching out to these legacy personal users.
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In YouTube’s 2022 Priorities letter, CEO Susan Wojcicki cited podcasting (just before NFTs) as an additional source of revenue for Creators. Podcasts already exist on the site as videos, but this is the latest mention that strongly implies that YouTube is going to provide a more dedicated experience. What form could YouTube Podcasts take and does that sound like something you’d use?
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Following .app, .page, and .new in recent years, Google Registry is now launching a .day top-level domain. An Early Access Program (EAP) opens today, while wider access kicks off in a week.
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