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.
Another big area of interest is Google’s burgeoning hardware division. He detailed all of the Pixel 3’s camera features before launch and got wind of Stadia’s hardware controller. Most recently, Abner scooped the 2nd-generation Nest Hub’s Soli-powered Sleep Sensing capability and how it would integrate with Google Fit.
Send tips/talk to abner@9to5mac.com or @technacity (open DMs).
Late last month, Google Voice for Android was updated with the Google Material Theme. The revamp is now beginning to make its way to iOS with many of the latest design stylings.
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Back at Cloud Next 2018 in July, Google previewed the Material Theme for Gmail on Android. That redesign is officially beginning to roll out today on mobile and features the company’s latest design stylings, as well as a handful of features first introduced on the web.
Night Sight rolled out to all Pixel phones in November and the results have lived up to the hype. It was compared to the iPhone XS during the Pixel 3’s launch event and Google is now continuing that photography lead with a new advertising campaign.
Last year, Amazon made waves in the smart home space by acquiring Ring for over $1 billion. Known for home security doorbells, a new report today claims that the company has a lax stance towards privacy that allowed more employees than seemingly necessary to access customers’ live camera feeds.
Google Lens began widely rolling out to Android in March and got a big update at I/O 2018 with real-time results and smart text selection. The visual search feature is now rolling out to the Google app for iOS.
For the past several months, a revamp to Google’s streaming music offerings has been widely rumored. A new report today pegs the launch of the revamped YouTube Music for next week, while YouTube Red and other video features will be replaced by a new “Premium” service.
Nokia ended speculation today that its Digital Health division could end up at Google or even Samsung. Instead, the wearable company will be sold to the co-founder of Withings and return to being an independent brand.
Google replaced SMS as the default 2-Step Verification method last year with device-based Prompts. iOS users were instructed to install the Google app for two-factor authentication when logging in. To increase adoption, Google is now making 2SV available through the Gmail mobile app.
Following iOS this afternoon, Chrome 66 is rolling out today for Mac with several user-facing features and policy changes. This includes new media autoplay behavior, a passwords export feature, and other security changes.
Ahead of Apple’s education-focused event tomorrow where a new affordable iPad is expected, Google this morning announced the first Chrome OS tablet. The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 is a new form factor for Chrome OS going directly after the K-12 market.
Last month, Google announced that Lens — its set of visual search and analysis tools — is coming to iOS. First introduced at last year’s Google I/O developer conference, it will be rolling out over the coming weeks to all users using Google Photos.
Since January, YouTube has been testing a dark theme for its iOS app that matches the revamped desktop client. That feature is now official and rolling out today.
The Google app for iOS is adding a number of new features today that expand the availability of Search functionality via the share extension and iMessage. Meanwhile, the app is also gaining support for iOS 11’s iPad features.
After launching an app on Apple TV earlier this month, YouTube TV is adding some notable channels and launching in new markets today. Meanwhile, the expansion comes as the cord-cutting service is raising its monthly fee for new subscribers next month.
Over the weekend, Google’s Gboard for iOS began rolling out a handy tool for creating GIFs right from the keyboard. Based on Motion Stills, users can create animations with a variety of effects, with quick access to them in the future.
Recent years have seen the rise of smartphone videos shot in vertical orientation due to live streaming and other mediums. Back in June, YouTube announced that its mobile apps would better support these experiences. Now, this dynamically adapting video player is beginning to rollout on iOS.
Inspired by the success of Motion Stills, Google is releasing more photography apps built on experimental technology. Today, Google is launching two new “appsperimentals” for iOS that take advantage of recent phone and computer vision advancements.
Google today announced that YouTube TV was getting a dedicated and optimized experience for the big screen. An Apple TV app will be available in the coming weeks, along with clients for LG, Samsung, and Sony smart televisions.
Following the rollout of 280 character tweets last month, Twitter announced that it is developing a bookmarking feature to save tweets. A highly requested feature, one product manager at the company today shared an early prototype.
Late last month, YouTube TV launched in 12 more markets around the United States. That brought the $35 per month cord cutting service to 41 cites, a fast ramp up since its late February launch. Today, the cable competitor is launching in eight more cities.
Earlier last month, Twitter began testing a night mode for its desktop website that matched its iOS app. The social network today announced that it is rolling out the darker theme to all users beginning today.
Google Glass has seen a number of developments in recent weeks with the most significant being a wider launch of the Enterprise Edition. Meanwhile, the Explorer Editions and the Android companion app received their first updates in nearly three years. Over the weekend, Google has gone ahead and updated the iOS version of MyGlass with 64-bit support.
Last month saw YouTube TV expand to 10 more markets around the U.S. Today, the $35 per month cord cutting service is launching in an additional 14 locations, with Google’s cable competitor now available for residents of 29 areas around the country.
Being the default search engine on iOS is highly lucrative for Google, with Apple’s devices predicted to account for approximately 50% of Google’s mobile search revenue. So much so that one financial firm estimates that Google will pay Apple $3 billion this year to remain the default.