Google News has released a fresh makeover on Android, introducing a revamped “Following” tab that enhances the way users discover and engage with articles based on their interests. This update offers a more tailored news feed experience and is poised to improve the overall usability of the app.
Here are the key highlights of the redesigned Following tab:
1. Customizable Following Feed: The Following tab now acts as a customizable feed, serving up topics that align with the user’s interests. This means that alongside the publications users follow, they can also explore various topics they are passionate about.
2. Card-Based Layout: The new Following tab employs a card-based layout, which is reminiscent of Google Chrome’s mobile homepage and the Discover feed in the Google app. These cards represent different areas of interest. When a user taps on one of these cards, they are presented with a curated feed of related articles. Each article includes a headline, the source, and the publication date, making it easy to decide which stories to delve into.
3. Easy Topic Management: Users can effortlessly manage the topics they follow from the “Library” section. This section provides a comprehensive list of all the topics and sources that the user is currently following. Here, users can choose to unfollow certain topics or reorder them as they see fit. The order in which topics are displayed in the Library directly impacts their arrangement in the Following tab, offering a level of personalization to the news feed.
4. User-Friendly Reorganization: If a user wishes to reorganize the order of topics in their Following tab, they can do so by rearranging the order in the Library. This flexibility allows users to curate their news feed according to their preferences.
5. iOS Availability: While this redesign has initially rolled out on Google News for Android (version 5.86), iOS users can look forward to accessing these enhancements at a later date later this year, as per Google’s announcement in June.
This update represents a significant improvement in Google News’ usability. Previously, users were primarily limited to viewing sources they followed, with topics scattered in the “For you” feed, subject to Google’s algorithmic organization. With this redesign, users gain more control over their news feed, enabling them to engage more deeply with their areas of interest.
In essence, this redesign empowers users to tailor their news consumption experience, keeping them informed about the topics that matter most to them. It’s another step toward personalization and user-centric content discovery in the realm of news aggregation apps.
FaqsfeedTeam
