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News reporting has changed over the years, given voice by almost every communication medium, including written papers, radio, television, and websites that beam the latest news to your mobile device. Apps like Google Discover go the extra mile to bring the news to your best Android gaming phone. Using algorithms to tailor an experience to your interests is common these days. Companies have never been shy about peeking at your data. Google Discover exploits this practice to ensure you get the news that interests you, with zero fluff in between.
Google Discover is an integral part of Android tablets and phones. You can check the latest happenings, news, and sports events, track selected stocks, glance over weather conditions, and perform a quick Google search. The Google Discover menu is a tap away and shows recommendations based on your search history. Instead of relying on Google algorithms to receive news, add interests in Google Discover and get relevant results.
Google is testing a Discover feed for desktop
The feature will show you content based on your web activity
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If you use the Google app, website, or even the Pixel Launcher on your mobile device, you’re likely already familiar with the Discover feature. It populates the page with content based on your web activity and what Google knows about your interests. Microsoft’s Bing homepage is notably similar, but it allows users to customize what they see. Now, Google is testing its Discover feed on the desktop version of the Google search page — and it may soon show up for you, whether you like it or not.
Google is testing a fake search bar in the Discover feed
The beta test simplifies searches originating from articles on Discover
Google Discover is an unmissable part of Pixel Launcher and the Google app, serving as a hub for everything you could possibly be interested in. Google realizes you often read an article on Discover and then switch to the main Search app to find related content. Now, the company is testing a new UI component that makes this search journey easier, giving you a launchpad for the query directly in the Discover feed.
How to get rid of the Google Discover page on your Android phone
You can only read so much Discover clickbait
Google's Discover page is a key part of an Android phone's homescreen. It is the leftmost homescreen panel on most phones and a great source to discover new content and stay up to date with the latest world happenings and topics that interest you. Google Discover was initially a Pixel-exclusive. However, the homescreen panel has become a part of most premium and budget Android phones. If your phone doesn't provide access to Discover from the homescreen, you can access it from the Google app.
The Pixel Launcher’s Discover page discovers the full power of Material You
Discover is doubling down on dynamic theming
Android 12 was the first version of the mobile OS to feature dynamic theming. It used the Monet engine to pull the primary color palette of your wallpaper, and used variations in hue and saturation to create a tasteful palette which extended across the UI. Until recently, the Discover feed only used dynamic theming for the upper region and the Google logo, but that's now starting to change.
Google’s Discover feed makes better use of your Android tablet’s display space
The three-column layout packs even more suggestions on the same screen
With the arrival of Android 12L, Google doubled down on its commitment to tablets, especially in the lead up to the Pixel Tablet. While there are plenty of apps optimized specifically for the top Android tablets on the market, the search giant has lately been focused on making its first-party apps suitable for the big-screen experience. In line with that, Google has tweaked the Discover feed to better utilize the ample screen space on tablets.
Google tests ditching full-screen view for Discover and Search results
Embrace the new card-style interface
Google, like all big tech companies, seems to feel that experimentation is the best way to improve the experience customers have with its products and services. The company regularly changes things in apps like YouTube, Gmail, and even the Discover feed. In its newest experiment, Google is using card-style pop-ups to open articles from Discover instead of fullscreen previews we've grown used to.
Google has a problem with plagiarized news content, but says it's up to publishers to deal with
Hey Google, why is my Discover feed filled with stolen articles?
Plagiarism is serious business, especially in journalism. But while individual writers stealing portions of work from other creators online is a problem, it has nothing on sites that wholesale rip off countless articles, repackaging them as their own in an attempt to steal eyes and ad sales without any actual labor. While it's hard to stop this process from happening, it's really only a problem if a major channel like, say, Google starts to surface these results instead of unique, original reporting. Unfortunately, that's exactly what's happening — and it doesn't seem like the company's doing much to stop it.
Google Discover like counts are showing up for more people
You can see how many other readers enjoyed the articles in your feed
Deciding what articles are worth reading in Google's Discover feed can be tricky, but now Google has begun showing people like counts next to articles. This feature started showing up in November 2020, and we are now beginning to see a wider rollout.
Google Discover is testing cards for sports scores and stock performance — again
Is this the final look, or are there more tests coming?
It feels like sometimes Google just can't stop tweaking its Discover layout, and last week, we saw the company add a weather information bar up top in the latest Google Search beta — even though it removed something very similar from the UI over a year ago. Now that effort seems to be expanding, as Discover also starts testing the presence of sports scores and stock prices.
Google Discover might bring back the weather card it ditched a year ago
Discover needs to do some self-discovery
Google Discover is excellent for keeping up with key information without looking for it, regardless of whether you want to stay up to date with news, see the latest weather data at a glance, or even get to know what's up with your stocks. However, with features and designs getting rolled out and then removed every now and then, it seems Discover’s not exactly sure what it wants to be (pun intended for the most part). The latest tweak to the service’s feed suggests that Google might be bringing back the expanded weather information card it discarded over a year ago.
Google keeps its homepage relatively clean compared to competitors like Bing or DuckDuckGo. With search built into the URL bar of every mainstream browser, there's really no reason to navigate to a dedicated page, and yet, old habits die hard. Some desktop users might be finding their Google homepages have an all-new set of widgets along the bottom of the screen, filling in once-empty white space with contextual information.
Google Discover will soon make it easier to see when your stocks are plummeting
The app is testing testing showing stock alerts at the top of your feed
Google Discover makes it easier to access key information at a glance without having to look for it. Even though not everyone is fond of it, it's still a great way to discover content and keep up with the news. That being said, it's not useful when it comes to keeping up with your stocks. Thankfully, the app is testing a new feature that would show stock alerts and scores at the top of the screen.
Google Discover's latest makeover takes its cues from Material You
The Pixel Launcher's feed gets a new coat of paint
Google Discover is a key part of the Pixel Launcher, even if it isn't everyone's cup of tea. While some people still miss Google Now years after its replacement appeared, many users rely on it to access a curated list of recommended news stories and topics. With Android 12 bringing a whole new look to your phone, Discover just wouldn't feel complete without an extra splash of color to match your device.
An upcoming Chrome test fills its homepage with even more useless clickbait
There's no hiding from the Discover feed
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Google is no stranger to pushing its popular Discover feed across its various platforms and products. You can even find it in Chrome's new tab page on Android these days, with its curated news feed based on your interests. Discover was first introduced in Chrome 54 and has received iterative updates to make it more prominent. It isn't finished, though, as it looks to make Discover even more visible in Chrome while in turn sacrificing usability.
Google Discover will get a major theming overhaul in Android 12
Google Doodles spread their background color down the feed
Google is focusing on the visual experience of Android 12. The latest fruit of that endeavor is a bit of fresh paint on the Discover feed. Google Doodles, the little shifting variations on the Google logo, have appeared at the top of the feed for a while now. But with the latest version of Google search installed on Android 12, Doodles now theme the background of the feed itself. Neat.
Google takes a hard left on its latest Discover UI test
More variations of Google's latest Discover redesign have popped up
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Google Discover is one of the search giant's most popular products in recent memory. Even Samsung finally relented and put it on the homescreens of some of its wildly successful Galaxy smartphones — no mean real estate achievement, even for Google. As such, UI tests on Discover are almost as numerous as the dozens of content cards it displays, with constant tests, refreshes, and tweaks coming and going.
Samsung phones updating to One UI 3.1 won't receive one of its best features
That may change with the eventual arrival of Android 12
Samsung has been on a roll with updates. Shortly after rolling out Android 11-based One UI 3.0 to its recent flagships, it's now pushing the One UI 3.1 to a few of them. This update brings a slew of the S21's features to these devices, such as Enhanced Single Take mode, Private Share, and video call effects, but it's missing out on at least one: Google Discover on the homescreen.
The Galaxy S21 could finally get Google Discover on the homescreen
Samsung's finally giving us a better option
Samsung is going to be announcing the Galaxy S21 soon, and along with that, its latest One UI 3.1 system software. One UI 3.1 will be a slight iteration to what is currently rolling out to the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 series right now. Changes are set to include new camera features like Director's View, new display features like Eye Comfort Shield, and the arrival of the Google Discover feed on One UI Home.