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 occasional echo on video calls is unavoidable, and Google Meet already works to “intelligently” control audio to remove it. Google will now notify you when you’re causing the echo and provide tips on how to stop it.
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Google Play today announced that Android app ratings will be localized by country and device type to make the star count “more personalized and indicative of the experience each individual user can expect.”
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In recent months, YouTube Music has seen a slew of tweaks that refine the app but don’t fundamentally change the experience. That’s par for the course at Google, but what’s been incredibly odd is how the YouTube Music team has not meaningfully talked about any of these new features until last week.
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The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) launched over 14 years ago to allow video monetization, and the Google company is now celebrating 2 million creators.
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Back in June, the built-in browser found on Assistant Smart Display became more feature-rich. Another update to the Nest Hub browser will read articles aloud to you (TTS), just like on Android, while it’s now easier to open websites.
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Earlier this week, Gboard widely rolled out its Material You redesign and Dynamic Color theme on Android 12. The Google keyboard is also set to get more MY elements and a redesign of settings.
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For the past few years, Google’s MVNO has long offered a built-in virtual private network as part of its monthly subscription. The Google Fi VPN is now rolling out to iPhone users.
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Back in June, YouTube Music for Android got a redesigned Now Playing UI that did a great deal to help modernize the streaming service, and it’s now finally coming to iPhones.
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Besides VPN issues and some notifications not popping up, Android 12 Beta 4 is quite stable for day-to-day usage. An issue that emerged in the last day or so, however, sees Android System Intelligence crash repeatedly on Android 12.
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The standalone Google Chat PWA and website are getting a straightforward dark theme to match the Android and iOS clients.
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After being introduced on the Android and iOS apps last year, YouTube’s new outline-style icons are now available on the web homepage.
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Back in March, a longtime Google vice president in charge of Google Pay and Next Billion Users left the company. That team was merged with Google’s shopping/commerce efforts, but a new report today points to the new Google Pay seeing slow growth and progress.
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The process of shutting down classic Hangouts for Workspace users is almost complete, as Google this week enables the integrated Gmail with Chat and Rooms for even more paid accounts.
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In late 2018, Google hired Dr. David Feinberg to “organize [the company’s] health efforts” into one division tasked with “help[ing] everybody live their healthiest life.” The Google Health leader is now leaving the company after two years.
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Over the years, Google has worked to minimize the security risks posed by browser add-ons. Enterprise administrators now have a new option that lets managed Chrome users request extensions as needed.
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Google is infamously known for starting multiple projects to accomplish what is more or less the same task. That practice extends to gaming, with court documents today revealing an Android and Google Play-focused “Games Future” that’s apparently running parallel to Stadia.
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This month’s feedback survey comes a week after Google released Android 12 Beta 4. Its availability is slightly delayed from the usual two days following launch.
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At the start of this month, Google started rolling out a big Podcasts for Android redesign. Google Podcasts on the web is now getting a sizable update of its own with a synced queue.
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Last year, Google Chat added support for talking with users outside their company, thus expanding from being just an internal team communication tool. Google Workspace admins are now getting the ability to limit that external Chat access.
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In June, Google redesigned Discover to be “more streamlined” by removing article descriptions and making other visual tweaks. On Android 12, the Google Discover feed to the left of the Pixel Launcher has added more Material You flourishes.
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NASA’s Perseverance landed on Mars six months ago and has been chronicling its mission with good imagery and video. Google is marking the anniversary with a very fun ad that imagines if the Mars rover used Google Photos.
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Last August, Google announced that it was optimizing Smart Displays for use in hotel rooms to provide hands-free help and control. One such large-scale deployment of Nest Hubs is now live at Legoland sites in California and New York.
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Google Calendar already lets you specify your working hours and earlier this year added support for split schedules. Google is now letting users share day-to-day locations in Calendar amid the increase of hybrid work environments.
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Following a tease last week before the unveil of the Galaxy Watch 4, a leak of the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch lineup today reveals a rather straightforward successor.
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