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.
Back in March, Google Fit rolled out camera-powered heart and respiratory rate tracking. Google is now adding a “Paced Walking” activity for Fit that offers somewhat of a guided experience.
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Over the past few years, Google has built its own subsea cables in addition to partnering on joint efforts and leasing access. Google’s latest private cable project is “Firmina” to connect North and South America.
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Ahead of Stadia coming to Chromecast with Google TV on June 23, Google is rolling out an update to the streaming dongle that adds underlying support for the game streaming service and makes a handful of other improvements.
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This quarter’s Pixel Feature Drop is primarily focused on camera features from Night Sight video to the Locked Folder. Google Camera 8.2.400 with astrophotography time lapse is still rolling out via the Play Store, but you can also download the new version immediately.
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Last year, Google started showing a search engine “choice screen” to those setting up Android devices in Europe following an antitrust ruling. Google is now updating it to include more providers and make “participation free.”
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Google last month started to sell a $24.99 accessory for Thermostat owners with otherwise incompatible setups. Some are now being offered a free Nest Power Connector to resolve their issues.
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Google’s biggest consumer-facing augmented reality offerings today are Lens and Live View in Maps. At WWDC 2021, Apple announced it was planning to go after those two features with iOS 15 this fall.
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While the first beta of Google’s next mobile operating system is now available, Android 11 remains the stable release for the next few months. Google is rolling out the June security patch with a Feature Drop to the Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), and Pixel 5 today.
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The June update for Pixel phones is coming later than usual this month, but it does bring a Feature Drop that’s more packed than recent releases. Highlights include the ability to take Astrophotography time lapses and a Locked Folder for Google Photos, while several capabilities are now more widely available abroad.
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Google’s Assistant Smart Displays have always had a built-in web browser that you could rather easily access. That rudimentary Nest Hub browser now has a keyboard and a handful of other features to advance the experience.
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With the first beta at I/O, many of the consumer-facing changes in the next major version of Google’s mobile OS were revealed. One of the most controversial visual updates in Android 12 is the ripple effect when tapping. The company has heard the feedback and committed to improving it over the coming releases.
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Towards the end of last year, Google One introduced a virtual private network to make the storage subscription a more enticing offering. The Google One client now lets you specify what apps can bypass the VPN.
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For some users, Assistant has a tendency to pick up “Hey Google” and answer on the wrong Smart Display/speaker. Google is now soliciting feedback when the wrong Home activates with a “Which device did you expect to respond?” notification.
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For the past few years, Fossil has been the biggest Wear OS maker, given how various brands use the same underlying platform. In an interview today, Fossil revealed it was making a premium Gen 6 device leveraging the new Wear OS this fall.
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A new Google “Wireless Product” has hit the FCC at the unusual time of Friday evening. It bears some similarities to a device that arrived at the FCC in March that has yet to launch.
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With the launch of the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G last year, Photos got a redesigned editing experience focused on smart suggestions and more granular controls. A small tweak today sees the Markup tools for drawing and adding text get elevated in the Google Photos editor.
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Following a partial outage with Fitbit just last week, Strava is now having major sync issues with Google Fit. The problem emerged over the past few hours and involves Google throwing a “This app is blocked” warning message.
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Google, Apple, and the other major browser vendors today announced a WebExtensions Community Group (WECG) at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to “work together to advance a common browser extension platform.”
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In a notable technology push, Walmart is giving 740,000 US employees a Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro that’s preloaded with a new internal app to help customers. This Android phone will also be available for personal usage.
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Jon Wiley announced today that he is leaving Google after a nearly 15-year career. The designer played a big role in unifying the company’s design language at the start of the last decade.
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Google Drive already allows users to customize the color of folders that appear in “My Drive,” but that capability is now being extended to shared drives and shortcuts.
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With the launch of iOS 14 last year, many Google apps added support for updated homescreen widgets. The Google Search widgets are now adding nice customizable backgrounds for iPhone and iPad.
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Last year, Google introduced a more advanced tier of protections that anyone can enable in Chrome. Enhanced Safe Browsing now warns users about untrusted extensions, while offering an additional layer of analysis for downloaded files.
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For the past few years, Waymo has been operating in Phoenix, Arizona, as a fully autonomous ride-hailing service. Those in the Metro Phoenix area will now see Waymo One as an option in Google Maps.
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