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Anthropic is printing money, but AI isn’t paying off outside tech

Good morning. Today I’m reading about Netflix’s bloody week, playing with Apple Music’s fun new 404 page, mourning Arc’s untimely demise, and devouring Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel, Land.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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What tech is making you happy?

Tech is in a weird place right now. There are plenty of exciting developments in AI, tons of new hardware, and rapidly growing ideas, but it’s all surrounded by the effect today’s tech is having on society. So, what tech is making you happy right now?


9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.


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Android has always been chaotic in the best ways possible

Good morning. Today I’m mourning the end of BioWare, running my Google TV setup through Claude to remove all the bloatware, watching all the iPhone Duo reviews without spending $2,000, and attempting to understand everything I can about PHP in light of two massive vulnerabilities that AI helped uncover.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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Foldables are about to get huge

Good morning. Today I’m reading about an incredible medical plagiarism scandal, replaying the original Ocarina of Time ahead of its remake’s November 5th release, jamming to the dark new Fontaines D.C. album, and using Gemini to prep for the upcoming fantasy basketball season.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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The biggest reason not to buy a Googlebook is all about timing

You probably shoudn’t buy a Googlebook. That’s less of an opinion about the platform itself, but more about the bad timing that this launch has seen, and protecting your own wallet.


9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.


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The smart home may be too messy even for Google

Good morning! Today I’m watching this epic discussion between Thom Yorke and Harry Styles, reading everything I can about the new Ocarina of Time remake, playing MMO Solitaire with 400 other people, and jamming to Remi Wolf’s new album, Mud.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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Google TV Streamer’s sequel showcases a struggling smart home

We broke the news this week that a next-gen Google TV Streamer is incoming, but it also arrives as Google’s smart home hardware strategy faces a tough spot and new competition.


9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.


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Google seems to finally understand why it bought Fitbit

Good morning! Today, I’m searching for Prime Day deals, watching Chris Rock masterfully dodge questions about The Slap, questioning Sam Altman about whether we have to accept “some bad things” to justify AI’s exponential growth, and brushing up on my chess game after many years of neglect.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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Google Pixel turns 10 years old today, and we’re still talking about it

10 years ago today, Google launched the first Pixel smartphone and, at the time, teased it by saying we’d still be talking about it years later. And, yeah, we still are, and this is a Google project that shows no signs of slowing down.


9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.


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Gemini 4 Argon must reverse Google’s AI inertia

Good morning and happy October. Today, I’m cringing at this gaggle of billionaires pretending to be human, vibing to the new Tinashe album, Popstar, and heartily dining on all the brutal ‘Digger’ reviews.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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A decade in, what is the Pixel’s legacy?

Good morning. Today I’m going crazy over the NYT’s list of the best TV shows of the 21st century, redoing all of my vibe-projects with Opus 5.5, girding my loins for another Witcher 3 play-through now that the free remaster is out, and devouring Colson Whitehead’s new novel, Cool Machine.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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Google Pixel can use Tensor as long as it wants; it’s all the other specs I’m jealous of

This week saw the debut of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon chips and, with it, the usual onslaught of Tensor hate around Google’s Pixel phones. Personally, I don’t care about those, but new launches around Qualcomm’s event have shown off a lot of other specs I’d much rather see Pixel adopt.


9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.


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Oh no, here come the AI Tamagotchis

Good morning. Today I’m watching yet another Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave review (watch this for context), getting started on my Booker Prize shortlist read-through, and reading as much as I can about Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” now that it’s the longest-running #1 hit of all time.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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Googlebooks will live or die on the loyalty of a billion Android users

Good morning. Today I’m bumping to Carly Rae Jepsen’s new double album (it’s great!), wishing I had more kidneys so I could afford the new M5 Ultra Mac Studio, marveling at Astra’s ability to decrypt 100-year-old WWI cyphers, and counting down the days until I can play Control Resonant.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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The camera is my favorite part of smart glasses, but it just feels wrong now

Smart glasses are such a logical, futuristic step in mobile tech, and it’s one we’re on the cusp of being able to embrace. Yet, there’s a huge hurdle to overcome. For as useful and enjoyable as it is, the camera on smart glasses has become a massive problem, and it’s basically ruined existing smart glasses for me personally.


9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.


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Samsung’s taking a ‘More is More’ approach to foldable competition

Good morning. Today I’m wondering if I should revisit Diablo IV in light of the Diablo V announcement, what I would possibly do with a Steam Frame if I could justify its $1,059 price, and whether I missed any major features by reading as many iOS 27 and macOS 27 reviews as I can stomach.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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The iPhone Duo didn’t reinvent Android foldables, but I fear the copycats anyway

Apple’s first foldable is here and, shocker, it didn’t exactly reinvent the foldable, but the iPhone Duo did get some of the most important aspects right, and will give the Android side of the conversation some things to work on too.


9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.


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The iPhone Duo is actually a software story

Good morning, how did you sleep? Me, I had trouble until I started counting the number of times Apple used the word “AI” in its keynote (it was 41). In my dream, I was inundated with Elizabeth Holmes deepfakes and memes, which startled me awake. As I lay in bed, I calmed down by reading about how AI will “kill us all by the end of the decade,” and then I got up and helped ChatGPT do my kids’ homework. Such a great day.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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Google’s AI also cheats, but a little more honestly

Hey, happy Tuesday. How was your long weekend? I hope it involved a little Windows 98-style downtime, maybe some pickleball with Andre Agassi, a dive into the origins of the newly UN-endorsed Equal Earth map, and a few examples of GPT-6 Astra blowing some minds.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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A pile of MacBook Neo clones gives Googlebook all the more of an uphill battle

As the debut of Googlebook quietly approaches, a week full of new laptop launches at IFA continues to make me wonder why literally anyone should be even a tiny bit interested in Google’s new platform.


9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.


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The tiny new features that make Android great

Good morning and happy Thursday. Today I’m watching every minute of M. Night Shyamalan’s new YouTube video on the making of Signs, trying to convince myself I don’t need the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones, and using this helpful guide to finally install a local AI model on my M4 Pro Mac Mini.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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Be the MapQuest you want to see in the world

Google morning. How many times have you written that before? I hope you had a lovely final weekend before Labor Day. This morning, I’m reading about tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of pristine Duck Hunt cartridges found in a box in Wisconsin, vigorously nodding my head along to John Oliver’s takedown of subscription bloat (but remember to subscribe to 9to5Google Pro anyway!), and wishing I had a 3D printer to create my dream storage and organization system.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

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Samsung Galaxy flagships are a hit in the midst of RAMageddon – why?

As the impact of RAMageddon continues, a couple of this week’s key stories have had me thinking – is the somewhat-boring nature of Samsung’s year-over-year Galaxy flagship refreshes the exact thing making these devices a hit?


9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.


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