'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Google News unveils new, customizable 'Following' tab for Android users
The updated version of Google News is available for Android devices now and is expected to hit iOS devices later this year.
Google News is getting a bit of a redesign on Android, and it should make finding useful articles a little easier.
Previously, Google News would let users follow general topics like world news, digital currency, finance, business, tech, etc. -- even certain cities. Those selected interests, along with Google's search history algorithm, would determine what stories appeared in the main Google News feed. A "Following" tab let users click and see sources to find news related to those areas, but didn't actually show any content.
Also: The best Android phones right now: Tested and reviewed
But now, the Google News "Following" page has a series of cards at the top that can be tapped on, each card representing an area of interest. Once a card is opened, articles related to that topic appear -- including a headline, source, image, and details on how old the article is. The feed actually looks very similar to how Chrome's feed looks when you open up a new tab.
Topics can easily be followed or unfollowed from the "Library" section, but the cards unfortunately can't be organized, and they'll be sorted in whatever order Google decides to display them.
Also: YouTube's new feature will identify songs just by the sound of your hum
The changes come after Google News received a Material You makeover earlier this year. If you're not familiar, Material You is Google's newest design language being implemented across all Google products, including the latest Pixel Watch and Pixel 7 Pro phone. It's designed to make Android products more personal and more customizable.
This isn't necessarily a huge update, but it certainly makes finding focused news a little easier than the For You page, and it gives users a little more control over what news appears.
The updated version of Google News is available for Android devices now and is expected to hit iOS devices later this year.