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.
Beyond phones and Smart Displays/speakers, Google Assistant is available on a slew of other devices. Google today is highlighting other form factors that recently launched with Assistant, including Samsung TVs and Fitbit.
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At the tail end of 2018, we reported on Google’s plans to replace Hangouts with Chat and Meet. The company later confirmed the news and has since been moving enterprise users to those two apps. Google is now ready to start detailing how it will transition classic Hangouts users to a free version of Chat.
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Google Recorder 2.0 is widely rolling out to older Pixel phones via the Play Store today with a handful of new features and tweaks. However, the new version of Recorder does remove the “Save to Google Drive” shortcut.
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When the Chromecast with Google TV went on sale two weeks ago, the Google Store also opened pre-orders for a first-party Ethernet adapter. The official accessory is now shipping and should arrive next week for early buyers.
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The Google News Initiative has provided funding and grants to publications, as well as built tools to aid subscriptions and analytics. The latest effort is to provide reporters with a suite of tools, dubbed Journalist Studio, that leverage technology to simplify workflows.
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To follow a big Android TV update yesterday, Google has just released an Apple Watch app for YouTube Music. It provides basic playback controls and browsing of what’s on your phone.
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The new Chromecast with Google TV is just under two weeks old and is getting a software upgrade today. Rolling out now, it’s officially listed as an “incremental update,” with the Chromecast Voice Remote also seeing new firmware.
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Over the past few months, Google has aggressively pushed its latest video conferencing service to new platforms from Smart Displays to Chromecast. Google Meet is now available for Glass Enterprise Edition 2 in beta.
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After coming to Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android last Tuesday, Chrome OS 86 will be rolling out over the coming weeks. There are a number of usability improvements in this release with a focus on making Chromebooks “more accessible for people with disabilities.”
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In addition to big screens via the new Chromecast, Google TV is also aimed at Android devices. The new Google TV is beginning to roll out via the Play Store, but you can also download it now.
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At the start of August, Google provided an official deprecation timeline for Play Music. The incremental shutdown continues today with Google getting rid of the ability to buy music from the Play Store worldwide.
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Back in 2018, Alphabet’s moonshot division revealed that it’s looking into how machine learning could be applied to crop production. X today officially announced that its computational agriculture project is called “Mineral.”
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One of the key aspects of the new Nest Thermostat is full integration with the Google Home app. It reflects how the company’s smart devices are moving towards one app, with that experience fully detailed today.
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Back in July, YouTube Music came to Android TV via the main YouTube app and a homescreen shortcut. The YouTube Music experience on big screen platforms, including Google TV, is getting an upgrade today that makes it more on par with the web and mobile clients.
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Following in the vein of other product announcements this year, Google today announced the new “Nest Thermostat.” At $129.99, it’s the first Nest smart appliance to really match the aesthetic of the company’s recent Assistant products.
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Earlier this evening, the Los Angeles Lakers won their 17th NBA Finals championship after beating the Miami Heat in six games. Those searching for the final score on Google are now seeing purple and gold fireworks.
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Last August, Assistant reminders stopped working for G Suite users, with Google providing additional confirmation later that year. There are now reports of this integration, which allows you to use voice for reminders, working again.
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Google offers “Go” variants of its most popular apps for lower-power devices. This week, Gmail Go was quietly made available for all users to download, regardless of device, on the Play Store.
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The future of Google’s enterprise communication services is tight integration with Gmail. That said, there will always be a need for the standalone Meet app, which Google is now redesigning to look like the recently added Gmail tab.
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For the past several years, Google has been working to build a large San Jose campus. It shared plans for “Downtown West” last October, and it’s now following that with some renders.
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Besides Gmail integration, the last big update to Chat in July introduced a dark theme. Google Chat will soon be picking up read receipts in one-to-one conversations.
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Less than a week after Launch Night In, the Google Wifi was quietly relaunched at a more affordable price point. Even after that surprise unveil, Google is reportedly not done with hardware this year amid rumors of a cheaper Nest Thermostat.
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Google’s MVNO has long only featured first-party Nexus and Pixel phones, as well as Motorola devices. Google Fi is now directly offering Samsung phones while detailing its 5G coverage today.
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At I/O 2019, Google announced the Interactive Canvas framework to bring full-screen visuals and animations to what were previously voice-only Actions. After making a big push for games on Smart Displays, Google is now letting developers build interactive education and storytelling apps.
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