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.
Over the past few hours, YouTube appears to have accidentally removed channels and banned accounts for violating its “spam, deceptive practices, and scams policy” even for users that have never uploaded videos in what looks to be a bug.
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As of Friday morning (PT), the Google Home app is facing some issues with the Activity feed and Settings tab.
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Waymo today announced a “multi-year, strategic partnership” with Hyundai Motor Company, starting with the all-electric IONIQ 5 SUV.
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At I/O 2024, Google announced a Gmail Q&A feature that brings the Gemini side panel available on desktop web to Android. This is now officially rolling out.
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The first big update to Pixel Studio is supposed to make it easier to bring a photo into the app for editing, but the share target is currently broken.
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Following the Pixel Buds Pro 2, Find My Device network support is now rolling out to Sony headphones and earbuds.
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Google is working to upgrade the personal Meet calling experience to be more inline with the feature-rich enterprise version. As part of that, Google Meet has a new “Start a call” page.
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Google today detailed how it has “significantly increase[d] Pixel 9’s resilience to baseband attacks” and cellular modem vulnerabilities.
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To date, Shorts have been 60 seconds or shorter, but YouTube is extending the max duration to 3 minutes starting October 15.
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According to Google, “Lens queries are now one of the fastest growing query types on Search” with 20 billion visual searches every month. Google Lens is now rolling out the voice and video search capabilities announced at I/O 2024.
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In addition to the latest Lens feature today, Google Search is rolling out “Organized with AI” and ads in AI Overviews.
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Over the past few hours, some Google Pay/Wallet users have received an erroneous “You added a new card to your Google Account” email.
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After completing the English rollout to free users on Android at the start of this week, Gemini Live is adding support for new languages.
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In a rather unsurprising move, Verizon Messages (Message+) is shutting down in November and Android users are encouraged to use Google Messages instead.
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After coming to Android earlier this year, Google Home now offers widgets that let you quickly control smart devices from your homescreen on iPhone and iPad.
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Google Play services is responsible for a slew of features on Android devices, and there’s now a way to see how much data is being used.
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Google is rolling out ChromeOS 129 with the latest Chromebook Plus features announced yesterday, including the Quick Insert menu.
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Last week, Google announced the latest Gemini-1.5-Pro-002 model for developers, and it’s now live in Gemini Advanced for paid subscribers.
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Gmail for Android and iOS are getting new summary cards that are more glanceable and actionable, with Google also directly surfacing them in your inbox.
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The Android 15 QPR1 Settings app redesign on Pixel moves the “Google” menu to the top of the list. All other devices are now seeing a big Material You overhaul of “Google services.”
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Since launch, access to Gemini Nano has been limited to Google and OEM apps, but broader experimental availability for Android app developers is now here.
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Following phones in August, Google is adding a Search tab to the Play Store on Android tablets and foldables in a design that completely misses the point of large-screen UIs.
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Along with the latest ChromeOS features, Google today announced two new devices that span the full size spectrum: Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11” and Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus.
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Google today is announcing the latest ChromeOS devices and Chromebook Plus features. This includes a new physical Quick Insert key that changes the Chromebook keyboard.
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