Google adds shortcuts FAB, ‘Catch up on news’ card to Assistant Snapshot feed

Abner Li | Oct 17 2020 - 10:20 am PT

Back in August, a “Hey Google, show me my day” command was added to quickly launch Assistant’s recap feed on Android. Google also previewed a number of other Assistant Snapshot features coming, with “Catch up on news” and a FAB with shortcuts now widely available.

“Catch up on news” shows your “Top 5 stories right now.” This card is expanded by default to show a carousel. Articles feature large cover images, the headline, publication, and how many hours ago it was published. Tapping — currently and mercifully — opens the page in a Chrome Custom Tab rather than the Google’s app default solution, which has been in and out of testing.

Underneath the swipeable card list is “Open News” — For You tab — and “Headlines.” If installed, both open the Google News app for more information. As with other cards, you can disable “News articles” in Google Assistant Snapshot settings under “Recommendations.” Compared to Google Discover, it offers a much briefer experience that’s more tailored to bite-sized consumption.

Meanwhile, the FAB that was previously shown off in late August is now available. Appearing in the bottom-right corner with a four-colored plus sign, it launches an “Add new” feed. Depending on connected services, most users are only seeing “Reminder.”

This launches Google Assistant to fill out the details of what you want to be alerted about. “Shopping item” and “Note” are available for others that do not have a first or third-party service set and are just using Assistant for everything. These two items provide a more integrated experience.

The Assistant Snapshot FAB has been appearing over the course of this week, while the Google News card is rolling out now.