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.
Given the vast nature of Google, the company has a lot of product/service accounts on X (formerly Twitter) and is working to consolidate them. There are two separate instances with Google Pixel and Material Design this month.
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The next notable update (version 7.72) for Pocket Casts on Android and iOS adds support for transcripts and video/audio clip sharing.
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YouTube for Android is rolling out a transparent status bar that makes for a nice qualify-of-life improvement.
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At the moment, birthdays that appear in Google Calendar are based on Google Contacts information, but manual creation is now coming.
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Google’s passkey adoption push continues with its Password Manager now allowing you to save those credentials to desktop Chrome.
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Google is still selling the Pixel Watch 2 at $249, but some Target locations have the Wear OS device on clearance for $74.99.
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Last week, Google announced that Gemini Live is beginning to roll out for free users, and it’s now hitting the first Android devices.
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Desktop Chrome is getting a handful of enterprise updates, with Workspace users soon able to see their Google Calendar on the New Tab Page (NTP).
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At Made on YouTube 2024, Google announced the latest features for Creators that also enhance the viewer experience.
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One of the more exciting uses of AI in desktop Google Chrome lets you naturally search your browsing history, and here’s how to turn that capability on.
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In addition to a change with the “Hey Google” hotword, some Pixel Buds Pro owners have been prompted about the “touch and hold” gesture no longer working to read notifications.
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Google announced the first wave of Android Cross-device services at the end of May, and we’re now seeing wide availability of Internet sharing and Call casting.
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With RCS rolling out on the iPhone yesterday, Google is looking ahead on new features including cross-platform end-to-end encryption (E2EE) between Android and iPhone.
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After rolling out to mobile for some, the Gemini Extensions for Google Keep and Tasks are now available in gemini.google.com.
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After last year’s revamp, Fitbit has been slowly updating more and more of the mobile app, with Heart Rate stats being the latest redesign.
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We’re just over a week from the launch of the Google TV Streamer and units are already at stores, but good luck trying to get one to sell you a device before September 24.
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The Search widget offered by the Google app on iPhone and iPad now offers customizable shortcuts, including to Gemini.
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iOS 18 is rolling out today with RCS to improve the Android-iPhone messaging experience, but support is not yet enabled for all carriers, including Google Fi Wireless.
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The presentation experience in Google Slides is getting a nice quality-of-life update with multi-monitor support.
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Apple today is rolling out iOS 18 with support for RCS in a huge boost to the iPhone-Android messaging experience.
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Google was incorporated on September 4, 1998, but it has long celebrated the occasion on September 27. To mark the occasion, the Google Store hosts a birthday sale, and the US offers are elevated Pixel 9 Pro trade-ins.
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Google released Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 on Thursday as a pretty sizable update with a number of user-facing changes. We’ve been using Android 15 QPR1 since then and it’s stable enough for day-to-day usage, but it’s not without some bugs.
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On Saturday evening (PT), a large number of Android users are seeing the Google app repeatedly crash (“Google keeps stopping”) when they attempt to search.
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The hinge still isn’t the weakest part of Pixel 9 Pro Fold in a durability and bend test, as well as subsequent teardown, from JerryRigEverything.
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