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 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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Following a widely-received ad during the NCAA Final Four at the start of April, Google at the 93rd Oscars aired “A CODA Story” to highlight another way COVID-19 has impacted family and communication.
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For the past several weeks, we’ve been tracking an Assistant feature codenamed “Guacamole” in the Google app. We can now report that “Guacamole” will let users perform time-sensitive Assistant “quick tasks” like answering calls or silencing alarms on your Android phone without having to first say “Hey Google.”
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Google detailed the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G’s HDR+ with bracketing advancements in a research blog post today. As part of that, the company linked to a gallery demonstrating the camera technology and one of those shots includes a photo taken by the Pixel 5a 5G.
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Besides an ultrawide lens, the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G added HDR+ with Bracketing to improve image quality in shadows, among other benefits. Google today detailed the technology behind that new capability while also revealing that the Pixel 4 and 4a now use bracketing in Night Sight.
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When taking screenshots in Android 11+, a preview appears in the bottom-left corner for quick sharing or editing. A translate suggestion from Google Lens now also appears here on applicable screen captures.
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Over the past several years, Google has been working to make Android apps smaller in size by optimizing what code and resources are downloaded to devices. The latest initiative on this front is “App install optimization” in Google Play.
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With the launch of the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G last year, Google also rolled out a redesigned Photos editor on Android. The video experience has since been similarly revamped, while Google Photos is now rolling out new “Sharpen” and “Denoise” tools.
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Back in March, Google hired an ex-Intel vice president to lead server chip design as part of a “doubling down” in custom compute. Google already has a history in the area, and this week detailed YouTube’s use of “Argos” Video Coding Units (VCUs) chips to massively aid transcoding.
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Google’s push for AMP-powered Web Stories saw a boost with the launch of a WordPress plugin in September. A recent update makes it easy to embed Web Stories into sites, while there are now WordPress themes that natively display carousels of AMP content.
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Google is today marking the sixth anniversary of its MVNO carrier with a new plan that brings the number of total offerings up to three. “Simply Unlimited” is joining Google Fi’s “Flexible” and the just-renamed “Unlimited Plus” plans.
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In addition to company-wide initiatives and deals, Google is marking Earth Day by letting businesses in Maps and Search specify what recycling is available on site.
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Back in October, Made by Google released one more product for 2020. The already-affordable new Nest Thermostat is now being discounted at the Google Store, and other retailers like Amazon, to $99 for an even more attractive price.
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As we first spotted last month, Google Podcasts is letting users customize and fine-tune recommendations as they’re listening to episodes. This feature is currently in beta on Android.
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On Sunday, the European Super League was announced by some of the largest soccer/football clubs in England, Italy, and Spain. A mere three days later, it’s on the verge of collapse after intense criticism. Google UK today sent a very cheeky tweet about the situation in the form of a tip about how to undo Super League-class messes messages in Gmail.
Google is in the process of rolling out a new Gmail client online for free users that incorporates Chat and Rooms. As part of that, there were a number of small design tweaks, and the latest sees Gmail on the web get a new compose button.
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The Pixel Launcher gained a 4×5 grid option with Developer Preview 1 in February and is now picking up a second 4×4 layout in Android 12 DP3 that notably shrinks the size of app icons.
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Following the desktop update last week, Chrome OS 90 is beginning to roll out today. There are a handful of usability enhancements in this release, which will be available over the coming days.
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The next version of Android remains focussed on developers until the first beta launches next month. With that in mind, we’re diving into today’s release of Android 12 DP3 to find all the new features.
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Alongside the launch of Android 12 DP3, Google today provided an overview of how the Play Store fought “bad” apps and developers in 2020.
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Following a pair of patches in recent weeks, Google is rolling out Android 12 Developer Preview 3 (DP3) to Pixel phones today. This should be the final developer-quality preview before the Android Beta starts next month.
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With hybrid work expected to become the norm, Google Workspace today announced a slew of upcoming features for its video conferencing service. Google Meet will see a new, “richer” laptop and desktop UI next month, while a number of AI features are coming soon.
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Following Android users worldwide experiencing repeated app crashes last month, Google today released an explanation behind what went wrong and how future WebView problems will be remedied.
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Apple’s Spring Loaded event this morning saw a number of product and service unveils. On the television and media front, the Apple TV 4K was revamped, but the real highlight was a new Siri Remote that addresses how frustrating the original is to use. That $59 remote can be purchased separately for older Apple TV models, and it’s somehow more expensive than the Chromecast with Google TV.
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