One of the more intriguing announcements at Google I/O 2018 last week was that of a new Google news app. The app is now live for both Android and iOS. It replaces Google Play Newsstand.
What is the new Google News app?
As Google explains, the Google News app “uses a new set of AI techniques to take a constant flow of information as it hits the web, analyze it in real time and organize it into storylines.” Artificial intelligence gives the app the ability to process and sort the news from all over the internet to make it easier for end users to understand. The new AI-powered Google News app is designed to help you find news stories you’ll be interested, and make sure you get accurate reports from credible sources. With a new design and new features, there’s a lot to cover in the new Google News app.The app is designed to keep you up to date with current affairs, with stories from trustworthy sources.
It opens with a Briefing, which is a list of five stories that you should find interesting based on your preferences and location. If you want to see detailed story regrading the news, then you have to click Full Coverage button which is found in the Briefing feed. There’s also a list of Headlines, which is a mix of news across various categories, such as sports, tech and business. Favorites is a tab that allows customization set by the user — without AI. It works as you’d imagine, letting you mark out preferred topics, news sources and locations to filter your reads. There’s also an option for saved searches and stories which can be quickly summoned. Finally, if you want to follow any specific sources, tap on the Newsstand tab and follow or subscribe to all your favorite magazines and newspapers. There’s even an option to pay for publications like The Washington Post and The New Yorker.
In today’s world where people silo themselves in news echo chambers, this app provides a ton of angles on stories, to help us become more informed on the topics at hand.