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, and Chrome/OS.
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 up-and-coming 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.
Besides using Gemini to power features in its apps and services, Google offers its LLM to third-party developers. Apple is reportedly in talks with Google to license Gemini for the iPhone.
Speedometer has long been Google’s preferred benchmark, previously noting how it’s the “most reflective of the real world” when comparing JavaScript performance. Speedometer 3.0 is now available.
Announced as Assistant with Bard alongside the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro last October, Google today is rolling out Gemini to provide an optimized mobile experience that integrates with Android, while it’s now part of the Google app on iOS.
The Google Maps UI has largely been unchanged for the past several years, but that’s now changing with pretty significant redesigns across key surfaces, including when searching for directions.
In response to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple announced last week that it would allow “alternative” browser engines on the iPhone in Europe. Google’s head of Chrome today shared their thoughts on the upcoming iPhone browser engine change.
Last week, Apple named some of the third-party apps that will be available for its spatial computing platform. No Google productivity or entertainment services were explicitly mentioned for Vision Pro. For the latter, we got “Disney+, Max, and other services,” while Microsoft 365 and Slack were the big work names.
Beeper brought back phone number registration for its iMessage on Android solution that involves having a jailbroken iPhone or access to a Mac. This workaround might be the last for Beeper Mini and Cloud, with the situation ultimately described as “unsustainable.”
As of Sunday, 60% of Beeper users weren’t able to send or receive iMessage, and the company’s upcoming Android solution is to “have access to a Mac computer, or have a friend on Beeper with a Mac.”
On Monday, Beeper Mini started working again but without phone number support. That workaround appears to be dead two days later, which is just in line with what Apple said to expect over the weekend.
Google is making a big change to how it stores Location History data on Android and iOS. Instead of that data being stored in the cloud, Google will be locally saving Location History to your device with end-to-end encrypted cloud backups for “Your Timeline” in Maps also offered.
On Friday afternoon, Beeper Mini on Android stopped working and Apple confirmed today that it “took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage.”
After years of teasing, Humane today fully unveiled its Ai Pin, a wearable camera with laser projector, for $699 and a $24 per month subscription to access cellular connectivity and other services.
The European Commission is currently investigating whether iMessage should fall under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and therefore be subject to interoperability rules. Google and local carriers have sent a letter to regulators in Europe arguing that iMessage should be considered a “core” service.
After adding a Memory Saver earlier this year, Chrome on desktop platforms (Mac, Windows, ChromeOS, etc.) will now report “Memory usage” when you hover over a tab.
Visually, Chrome on iOS is pretty different from the Android version. That disparity continues to grow today with the new ability to move the Chrome address bar on iPhone to the bottom of your screen.