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.
Activity and investment in the podcasting industry is currently at an all-time high after Facebook, Apple, Spotify, and others detailed their latest efforts last month. One major player that has yet to respond with new plans of its own is Google Podcasts.
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While recent weeks have seen a flurry of developments in the podcasting industry, Google has remained relatively quiet about its offering. That said, Google Podcasts has just redesigned the Now Playing screen on iOS and has widely rolled out the ability to block recommendations.
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Emoji is undeniably one big reason why people update to the latest operating system every year. A proposal from Google for a multi-skin toned handshake emoji is expected to happen in 2022 with Unicode 14.0.
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Despite being one of the first to embrace remote work, Google is adamant about getting its employees back in the office. This hybrid, “flexible workweek” is part of the company’s belief that in-person — and often unplanned — interactions spur new ideas and solutions. Google today shared its plan for post-pandemic offices.
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Preventing “unintentional data loss” is a big concern for companies, and Gmail is now adding an “External” badge on email conversations that include recipients outside your Google Workspace organization.
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It emerged earlier this week that Google’s default RCS client is rolling out a Samsung-specific design for the Galaxy S21 series. Those curious about how it looks and works can install the One UI variant of Google Messages on non-Samsung devices, including Pixel phones.
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Google today announced new policies and guidelines for how Android apps can present themselves in the Play Store. This is meant to ensure that end users are not misled by app listings.
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The last year has seen many more people turn to the internet for work, learning, shopping, socializing, and entertainment. Google Fiber reports that its networks nationwide saw an approximately 32% increase in demand.
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Google is rolling out a rather sizable April update to the Chromecast with Google TV that brings several fixes and a handful of new features.
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The initial I/O 2021 “Program” — as it’s called this year — of sessions was released today and we have our first glimpse at what to expect from Google’s developer conference.
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As we get closer to I/O 2021, Google today posted the schedule of sessions and other events for its three-day developer conference next month.
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Back in August, Google announced that it would turn your Android phone into a seismometer to form the “world’s largest earthquake detection network.” The Android Earthquake Alerts System will now start sending warning notifications in Greece and New Zealand.
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Google today announced a trio of updates for Google Assistant that leverage AI to improve pronunciation accuracy and context.
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Fossil started rolling out the latest Wear OS update to various watches in December but announced that it paused the release for Gen 5 devices in February to “iron out some issues.” H-MR2 today is rolling back out to Fossil watches in a process that involves two updates.
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With the underlying concept popularized by Stadia and other game services, Mighty wants to stream an entire Chromium browser from the cloud. The effort emerged this week after two years of development with a tagline of “Make Chrome Faster.”
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Alphabet this afternoon reported big Q1 earnings with notable year-over-year growth as ad spending returned. In prepared remarks, CEO Sundar Pichai told investors to expect “significant product updates and announcements” at Google I/O 2021 next month.
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Epic’s lawsuit against Apple has revealed quite a bit about iMessage for Android, including how platform lock-in is one reason it doesn’t exist. New filings today revealed that Apple executive Eddy Cue made the case for iMessage on Android to stop Google from owning messaging.
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Alphabet today announced Q1 2021 earnings with $55.3 billion in revenue. These numbers range from January to March, and reflect an increasing return to normal in some industries.
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On iPhone and iPad, the Google app is how users access Lens, Search, and Discover. For the two latter experiences, Google has already built out a rich web experience, but the iOS Search app is now becoming even more browser-like with a grid of “Tabs.”
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Back in October, Google and Parallels let enterprise users run Windows on Chromebooks for the first time. A big update is now rolling out to Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS that adds a slew of new features.
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Besides being sold on the Google Store and talks of some Nest Hub sleep data integration, it’s still early days for that acquisition. One upcoming change will see Facebook no longer supported for logging on to the Fitbit website.
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Back in November, a slew of Google apps on iPhone and iPad added homescreen widgets. The latest iOS 14 widget is from Google Voice, which now also supports macro creation in the Shortcuts application.
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The last major update to Google Tasks was in October when it was officially integrated with Calendar for Android and iOS. Google is now making Tasks in the sidebar of Gmail, Calendar, and other Workspace apps more streamlined.
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Google products have a large reach, and YouTube wants to use its platform to “encourage people to get informed about the vaccine.” YouTube’s COVID-19 vaccine info PSA is starting in the US and will expand to other countries.
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