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.
AMD this morning announced that it’s bringing Athlon and Ryzen chips to Chrome OS. HP is the first to unveil its AMD-powered Pro c645 Chromebook Enterprise, while also detailing the latest Intel Chromebox G3.
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As promised on Friday, iOS 14 users can now set Gmail as the default mail app on iPhones and iPads. This follows a handful of updates from Google to support the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system.
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Google Takeout has long let users export and download local copies of their data. With the Data Transfer Project, Google made it so that you could directly move an image library to a third-party service. Google Takeout now lets you select specific Photos albums to transfer.
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Carousels help break the monotony of Google’s 10 blue links. The company is now making visual tweaks to Google Search carousels that help modernize and increase the format’s prominence.
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Google’s remaining 2020 phones have been thoroughly leaked in terms of design and hardware specifications. That said, ahead of next week’s event, we’re still unclear about what colors the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G will be offered in, but new retail listings provide some insight.
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The Pixelbook was announced as Made by Google’s first laptop in October of 2017. It has since been followed by the Pixel Slate and the Pixelbook Go. Three years later, the Pixelbook is now out of stock on the Google Store.
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The Android Earthquake Alerts System turns phones running the mobile operating system into mini seismometers. Following last night’s earthquake in Los Angeles, Google shared an interesting visualization of what Android phones detected.
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A big update to Gmail that brought Chat, Meet, and Rooms to one central hub was announced in July. That’s now rolling out to enterprise G Suite customers, while all personal accounts already have a dedicated Meet tab. Following those announcements, the company is readying a facelift for Gmail, and it starts with a new icon, if a teaser Google sent us is to be believed.
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Two distinct versions of Google Pay exist today. The first is aimed at countries where NFC-based payments are widely adopted, while the other is for the Next Billion Users. That latter version of Google Pay, known as Tez, is getting a Flutter rewrite that will serve as the basis for global expansion.
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Compared to the mobile clients, YouTube Music on the web is slow to get new features. The most notable exception, of course, is the unique ability to upload songs. After first debuting on Android and iOS in February, the YouTube Music web app is picking up lyrics.
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This week, we preview the Made by Google 2020 event — AKA “Launch Night In” — taking place at the end of September. We recap the Pixel 5, 4a 5G, Nest Audio, and the Google Chromecast with Google TV.
Alphabet Scoop is available Google Podcasts, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, and through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
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Back in June, we exclusively reported on a new Nest speaker. Images of that device were inadvertently revealed by a Japanese regulatory agency and Google later confirmed the design. It’s set to be officially announced at the end of this month under a possible “Nest Audio” brand. A leak today (via WinFuture) shows off official product images of the Nest Audio.
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Apple launched its latest mobile OS on Wednesday and app developers are in the process of supporting the latest features. Google has two iOS 14 updates ready with a Search widget and Chrome browser default, while it’s readying a third.
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With the launch of iOS 14 yesterday, Apple introduced a number of privacy changes. One of them relates to how Chromecast works, with Google advising users to grant apps the iOS 14 Local Network permission and developers to upgrade.
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Somewhat overshadowed by the launch of Android 11, Google at the start of this month brought its Phone app to non-Pixel devices and added a new “Verified Calls” capability. To coincide with this launch, the app is now called “Phone by Google” on the Play Store.
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People have been turning to all forms of entertainment amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Chromebook gaming has specifically seen a threefold increase, with Google working to improve the experience.
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Last month, the first Pixel Buds feature drop introduced a slew of new features from bass boost to Attention Alerts and disabling touch controls. Google is now back with firmware update 552 to address the Pixel Buds cutting out after a set interval.
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Emoji always serves as a great incentive for people to update their phones. Android 11 just introduced 62 characters, but Google already has its designs ready for the new emoji coming with Unicode 13.1.
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Google Home 2.28 adds support for OnHub routers and lets you better control notifications. It also reveals “Nest Audio” as the possible name of Made by Google’s next speaker and work on Home/Away Assistant Routines.
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Last year, Google brought the Advanced Protection Program to its browser. APP in Chrome is now letting users send risky files to the cloud for a thorough malware scan.
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Shared — previously team — drives are how organizations using Google Drive distribute and collaborate on files. Google is now testing the ability to share folders within a shared drive.
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Google Voice is a relatively mature app that does not see too many interface updates these days. One change in Google Voice for Android today does make it easier to access ongoing calls.
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As previewed last month, Google is starting to launch a handful of pre-announced features for Meet. Background blur and being able to see up to 49 people simultaneously is coming to Google Meet in the coming weeks.
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The latest update to Home companion app introduced a slew of new features like a dark theme, unified camera page, and more Android 11 integration. Google Home 2.28 continues to improve the Wi-Fi experience by adding support for OnHub routers, while making it easier to video call.
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