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.
As announced with last week’s March Feature Drop, Pixel Studio 1.5 is required to generate images and stickers of people, while there are a handful of other changes.
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With the March 2025 Feature Drop, Google is rolling out Pixel Camera 9.8. Like with all releases, the rollout takes some time before arriving for all users.
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Gemini in Gmail is expanding with a new “Add to Calendar” shortcut that will “automatically detect calendar related content in your email.”
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In announcing the Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program in January, Google was vague about why it was releasing the update, but an Australian “Project Safety Recall” has now confirmed it’s to “mitigate the risk of overheating.”
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In early 2021, the Google Play Store rolled out a Nearby Share-powered method for sending apps on your device to others. This feature is soon going away.
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This was an insanely busy week in consumer-facing Google announcements. Approaching Google I/O levels, which is 72 days away, let’s alphabetically recap everything:
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The US Justice Department today reiterated what steps it wants a judge to take to address Google’s monopoly in online search.
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Welcome to episode 44 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, we talk about MWC 2025 announcements and the March Pixel Feature Drop.
Earlier this week, Google rebranded “Extensions” in Gemini to just “apps.” Google has now shared that these Gemini apps are now powered by 2.0 Flash Thinking (experimental).
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Following Android back in July, Google Maps is now rolling out a sheet-based redesign that replaces most fullscreen UIs in the iPhone app.
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As of December, Google Maps has rolled out the on-device Timeline location history change. Over the past day, some users have reported that their Google Maps Timeline is missing.
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As announced with the March 2025 Feature Drop, the Pixel 9 series can now connect to other cameras when live streaming.
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Google Calendar is the latest Workspace app to get the Gemini side panel on the web. This is currently being tested in Workspace Labs.
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To round out the Widgets Spotlight Week, the Android team yesterday hosted a YouTube Q&A session. We learned about the status of stackable widgets and whether they are coming to Android XR.
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Following yesterday’s announcement, Google is rolling out early access to Search’s new AI Mode experiment for Google One AI Premium subscribers.
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If you’re a Nest Aware subscriber, your Google displays and speakers can be used to detect smoke alarms and glass breaking. The Google Home Max is now set to loose sound detection from May 8.
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Following the wide release on Tuesday, Android 15 QPR2 Beta 3 users are now being offered the stable “Android Beta Exit No Data Wipe” OTA update.
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Google’s widget week for developers continues with the announcement that they are coming to phone lockscreens with Android 16 QPR1.
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At the start of this week, Google announced that video and screen sharing is coming to Gemini Live on Android later this month. Ahead of that launch, the group working on Project Astra is formally joining the Gemini app team.
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The aesthetic changes to Gboard for Android continue with Google introducing circle or pill-shaped keys for some beta testers today.
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The AAWireless TWO launched in October, and the wireless Android Auto adapter is now back in stock at Amazon after issues that halted sales for weeks.
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Makers of digital photo frames have long used the Google Photos APIs to transfer your images and videos to their devices. Google this month is implementing API changes that break those integrations, but is offering an alternate approach.
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In announcing the new Premium Lite subscription tier today, YouTube reaffirmed its commitment to music on the platform.
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Google today is announcing and beginning testing on an “AI Mode” for Search. This “early experiment” lets you ask more complex questions that will be answered by an AI-generated response that takes up the entire page.
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