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.
Last May, Google released an app for creating one-tap Assistant shortcuts on Android homescreens. An update today adds Action Blocks backup and restore when moving to new devices, as well as other small tweaks.
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A new Google device, which could be an upcoming Nest Cam, passed through the FCC late on Sunday evening. It’s officially referred to as a “Wireless Streaming Device,” a description that the company has not previously used.
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With Discover, Google wants to “help you uncover fresh and interesting content about things that matter to you.” Something appears to have recently changed with Google Discover as more than a few users are increasingly being served old news and more evergreen articles.
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Last year, Google introduced the ability to customize how sensitive your Smart Displays and speakers are to the hotword. Assistant is now using federated learning on Android to prevent “Hey Google” misactivations and misses.
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Over the past week, Google Discover has made two tweaks to the feed’s design. The first sees Posts on Google get a more prominent Discover layout, while sports carousels have been removed to improve usability.
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Smartphones have already obviated single-purpose gadgets like point-and-shoot cameras and MP3 players. Google today announced the Android Ready SE Alliance to make sure new phones have the underlying hardware to eventually replace car/home keys and wallets.
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Over the past few weeks, Morning Brew on Twitter has been running a fun and seasonally appropriate “Greatest product of all time” bracket where Google apps have dominated. It’s now coming to a close with today’s quarterfinals seeing Google Search, Maps, and YouTube.
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With Chrome 89 at the start of this month, Google introduced a built-in tool that lets you quickly save articles and other links for later. Users that have no need for it or don’t like losing bookmark bar space can remove the Chrome Reading List.
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Following a brief test earlier this week on the main website, YouTube Music for Android is now beginning to more widely see outline-style icons.
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The very first iteration of Assistant for phones was focused on voice commands until Google in 2018 added Smart Display-inspired visual elements like on-screen controls. Last year, a Snapshot feed to show personalized recommendations and upcoming events was added. Overall, Google wants Assistant to be better suited for and take advantage of the phone form factor, and an upcoming “Memory” feature — which we enabled — is the most significant example of that goal to date.
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A large number of Android users over the past few hours have been encountering continuous Gmail and other app shutdowns, with some finding that uninstalling Android System WebView will stop the crashing.
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Chipmakers do not have a strong track record of selling hardware directly to consumers. That’s not stopping Qualcomm with a report today describing plans to create an Android-powered Nintendo Switch.
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At the start of March, Google celebrated the 10th anniversary of Chromebooks with a big Chrome OS 89 update. The company, in partnership with Targus, also made an “exclusive laptop sleeve” modeled after the original Chromebook Pixel, and it’s now available for anyone to buy.
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Google has increasingly made Search a resource for students and others wanting to learn about various topics. The latest additions see Google Search surface practice problems, while expanding other capabilities.
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In addition to a web revamp, Google Chat is rolling out more notification settings over the coming weeks. These new options are “based on your level of engagement or involvement in specific conversations.”
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While Google Drive does offer a GUI lookup interface, power users often take advantage of search operators to save time. A change is in the process of rolling out to “make finding shared files easier.”
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Fitbit announced the Charge 4 this month last year as its most advanced fitness tracker with built-in GPS and SpO2. Data from the latter sensor was previously only accessible in the Fitbit app, but users will soon be able to see the metric on-device.
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Google today announced that it’s “doubling down” on custom chips as “one way to boost performance and efficiency now that Moore’s Law no longer provides rapid improvements for everyone.” The company hired a new engineering vice president, formerly of Intel, to lead a design team — focused on SoCs — in Israel.
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One big focus for Google today is making products for what it dubs the Next Billion Users in countries just coming online. The initiative has been led by Caesar Sengupta who announced today that he’s leaving Google after nearly 15 years.
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For the past several Android releases, Google has been working on local discovery technologies that apps can take advantage of to find nearby objects and users. Its latest contribution is the Google Play release of a “WifiNanScan App” for developers to experiment with Wi-Fi Aware.
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Google Lens has long been part of Google Photos to help you visually search images. On Android, Google Lens is now a more prominent part of Photos by identifying what pictures would benefit from the analysis and search tool.
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Made by Google on Friday released a video on “how to mindfully switch to the New Google Pixel” that certainly wants to be fun.
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For its latest Nook device, Barnes & Noble partnered with Lenovo to create a branded Android tablet. The Nook 10-inch from Lenovo notably features Google Kids Space.
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After we first spotted in August, Gboard is now rolling out an “enhanced voice typing” experience that features the new Google Assistant found on the latest Pixel phones.
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