Google Discover loses topic bubbles for more compact feed

In the first major tweak since last September’s rebrand, Google Discover has removed the topic bubbles that appear above every card. This makes for a cleaner and more compact feed, with the tweak rolling out today.

Google this afternoon widely introduced an updated Discover that removes topic bubbles. This results in cards appearing stacked right on top of each other with minimal spacing. While squished, it does allow for slightly more stories per page in a look that harkens back to the original Feed design.

Topic bubbles helped identify what interest or subject Google was surfacing in the story below. At the left was Discover’s asterisk logo in the company’s four colors of red, blue, green, and yellow. Tapping would open a feed of more stories related to that topic.

As part of this change, Google has removed the overflow menu from the top-left corner to the lower-right, bumping aside the more/less indicator. Users here can still see the subject of a card, and access the menu to follow or ban a topic, hide cards, and block websites. Another change sees Discover move prompts like “In case you missed it” to just above a story’s headline.

As of Monday evening, this topic bubble-less Google Discover is widely rolled regardless of Google app version. This updated design is appearing as part of a server-side update in the Google app, Discover feed to the left of the Android homescreen, and google.com on the mobile web.

More about Google Discover:

• Ads are officially coming to Google Discover later this year
• Google Doodles now appear in the Pixel Launcher’s Discover feed
• Google Discover surfacing ‘Posts on Google’ from brands and artists