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.
At I/O in May, Google announced Multitask Unified Model (MUM) as a big improvement to Search. MUM is now set to come to Google Lens “early next year.”
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Earlier this year, Google Search started showing “About this result” to give people more context about a website before they click. At Search On 2021, the company announced three new sections that will appear in the panel.
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Google is hosting a “Search On” 2021 livestream in late September to announce the “latest AI innovations” that are “making information more helpful than ever.”
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Following I/O in May, Google’s next big developer events in 2021 will be Dev Summits for Android and Chrome.
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Over the past few months, Chrome has been surfacing helpful panels on the New Tab Page, and the latest card is for intelligent Google Drive file suggestions.
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In addition to debuting Wear OS 3, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 was the first wearable to have a client for Google’s streaming service. The YouTube Music app is now coming to Wear OS 2 watches.
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While Discover and Assistant Snapshot have gone through a handful of visual revamps in recent years, the rest of the Google app has remained the same. Google is now testing a settings redesign on Android that removes the “More” tab.
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New Pixel phones released in the fall usually launch with exclusive software features that later become available on older Google phones. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will be the first to feature Material You weather widgets powered by the Google app.
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Google Fiber is available in 11 cities/regions across the country and has spent the last few years modernizing its service. The legacy Google Fiber TV offering is now officially set to be retired in favor of streaming.
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Back in October, Google introduced default and custom wallpapers for Meet. Google Meet is now rolling out video backgrounds that are first coming to the web.
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Compared to other redesigns, Material You for Google Calendar is very straightforward, but the widgets do benefit from one handy tweak.
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Google Workspace was announced at the start of October as a rebrand of G Suite and revamped approach to office-less productivity. As part of these changes, all of Google’s Workspace apps are seeing new icons, with the rollout now underway.
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Last week, Google rolled out the latest version of its browser and kicked off the new four-week release cadence. Chrome 94 is now widely rolling out on Android, and it brings along Material You, as well as Dynamic Color on newer devices.
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On Chromebooks, you can access most Google services with either the website or the Android app. Google today updated Gmail for Android on Chrome OS with the latest Material You redesign, but more importantly the latest app icon.
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The Google Docs web client is adding support for background watermarks, while comment boxes in the sidebar are getting wider to let you read more feedback per line.
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Besides appearing in the top-right corner of every Google app, your avatar is most prominently used for Gmail. A new “Google Illustrations” tool lets you find and build a custom profile picture.
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Google’s wearable platform is seeing a big push in the coming months with more new devices expected to accompany the revamped OS. As part of this, a “Health Services” app for Wear OS is now available in the Play Store.
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NBC today threatened to pull its channels from YouTube TV if a new contract is not signed. Google this evening issued its response, and said YouTube TV will see a $10 price drop if the NBCU channels disappear.
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Despite being incorporated on September 4, 1998, Google has long celebrated its birthday on September 27. Shoppers in Europe can take advantage of a birthday hardware sale in their local Google Stores today.
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Google’s marketing campaign for its upcoming flagship started online but has since expanded to TV and billboards. A new Pixel 6 magazine ad features much of the same copy but teases some upcoming capabilities.
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In October of 2019, Google Assistant introduced an Issa Rae voice that responds to a subset of common queries, like the weather. Just shy of two years later, at the end of this month, the cameo will stop working.
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Following version 93’s release on Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux, the next release of Google’s browser is rolling out. Chrome 94 is here and marks the start of updates every four weeks (instead of six).
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Google today opened submissions for the 2021 Material Design Awards. Now in its seventh year, the company is looking for apps with great dark theme, large screen, and motion implementations.
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Over a one-month period that ended in late November, Google rolled out updated logos for the vast majority of Workspace apps. Google Tasks was left off the list, but that’s now being rectified with a new icon.
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