Google Discover has filled the spot on the left-most panel of many Android homescreens for years now, but it replaced a tool that had some genuinely useful functions. Now, a new tool from a talented Android developer offers users the choice between Discover and “Snapshot,” the offering that replaced Google Now.
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With Tokyo 2020 well underway, there’s just a barrage of news about various events, results, and medal standings. Google Discover is highlighting a hub of sorts that’s quite a nice way to keep track of all things Olympics.
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Following a “more streamlined” redesign for Android 12 that has since rolled out to older OS versions, Google Discover is testing showing an article’s related keywords.
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Back in April, Google started rolling out a redesign of the Discover feed available to the left of most Android homescreens. After first going live for phones running Android 12, Google is now bringing the “more streamlined” Discover to older devices.
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Starting on Android 12, Google is rolling out the next big redesign of Discover. This visual revamp of the feed was first introduced on iOS and is now coming to Android.
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At the end of last month, Google redesigned the Discover feed on Android 12. With today’s Doodle celebrating the Savoy Ballroom, some rather Material You-like theming is being applied to Google Discover on the Pixel Launcher.
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The latest beta version of the Google app includes a redesign of the homescreen Discover feed on Android 12 that revamps the header and removes the search bar.
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Google Discover exists to the left of most Android homescreens, the dedicated Search app, and Chrome’s New Tab page. It’s meant to show articles, videos, and – increasingly – stories that are relevant to your interests. Publishers have been seeing significant drops in traffic from Google Discover, with many associating them with changes that have also impacted the quality of what appears.
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With Discover, Google wants to “help you uncover fresh and interesting content about things that matter to you.” Something appears to have recently changed with Google Discover as more than a few users are increasingly being served old news and more evergreen articles.
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Over the past week, Google Discover has made two tweaks to the feed’s design. The first sees Posts on Google get a more prominent Discover layout, while sports carousels have been removed to improve usability.
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Google’s ever-present Discover feed is testing a minor design tweak that moves the weather from a wide strip down to a chip in the corner.
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Alongside web articles, YouTube videos, and Web Stories, advertising frequently appears in the Google feed available to the left of most Android homescreens. Google Discover is now getting a new ads slideshow format that automatically moves you to the next image.
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Back in August, Google Discover started surfacing “Short videos” to join webpages, regular videos, and later, AMP-based Web Stories. Ahead of the beta coming to the US next month, Google is testing YouTube Shorts and other short-form content in Discover.
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A year ago, Google’s Area 120 incubator launched an HTML5 gaming platform to “test whether lightweight, casual games would resonate with people who use the internet via low memory devices on 2G and 3G networks.” Proving popular, these HTML5 games are now being coming to Discover, Assistant, and Chrome for Next Billion Users (NBU).
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Besides the feed to the left of most Android homescreens and the Google app for iOS, Discover is also available in Chrome’s new tab page on mobile. Website owners will soon be able to see Discover traffic from Chrome in the Google Search Console.
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Google’s interest-based stories field is to the left of even more Android homescreens following the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S21 and continued One UI 3.1 rollout. Google Discover is now interestingly testing applying hashtags to every article that appears.
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Samsung devotes a portion of every Unpacked event to talk about its partners, and the Google segment today revealed how Messages is “native” on the Galaxy S21, while you can connect Duo video calls to your TV.
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The Google Discover feed is a useful place to keep up with new stories you’re interested in, but the functionality becomes even handier when it’s a part of the homescreen. That experience is only available on select devices such as Pixels, but starting on the Galaxy S21, Samsung may finally adopt Google Discover.
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Google is upgrading its Discover feed with some new recommendation options, including a Google TV-like “What to watch” for movies, as well as beauty and apparel recommendations.
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Google’s Discover Feed is more or less in a constant state of flux thanks to tests, experiments, and tweaks. It now looks as though Google is testing a clean, cardless Discover Feed.
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After adding a Web Stories carousel, Google Discover is making two tweaks to cards. The first sees a “heart” being used for feedback, while Discover on some articles will link to Google News full coverage.
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Google is heavily pushing an AMP-based stories format, with last month seeing the launch of a WordPress plug-in and new Web Creators community. Web Stories are now officially coming to Google Discover in a much more prominent manner.
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To the left of most Android homescreens is a personalized feed of articles, YouTube videos, and — increasingly — AMP Stories. Google Discover is now offering episode recommendations from Google Podcasts for some users.
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TikTok has been or is in the process of being banned in some countries. This has resulted in new or existing services trying to replicate its success, while Google Discover is now directly highlighting “Short videos.”
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