Google Currents gets a major makeover

Info

We’ve gotten a peek at Google Currents’ new layout last month, and now it’s here for everyone to enjoy. The update brings the magazine-style reader app even closer to Flipboard territory. What’s more, the long-awaited widget finally makes an appearance.

If you’re used to the old UI, things can get pretty confusing at first. But once you familiarize yourself with the new setup, it’s actually pretty sweet. Here’s the changelog:

  • Edition sidebar – quickly access your editions within categories such as business, sports, etc.
  • Fast scan – Vertical swipe to scan an edition, horizontal swipe advances to next edition
  • Edition-section chooser – Choose “Customize” to filter out sections
  • Unread marks – Read stories are marked. (Setting to hide)
  • Breaking stories – ranked by Google News. Links to full length content.
  • Saved stories – star for future reference
  • New catalog design
  • Widget

As you can see from the numerous bullet points, this is a pretty major update, with the sidebar, which lists all the available categories, being the starting point of your news hopping. All your added publications will fall within their designated categories on the sidebar. Android Authority, as expected, can be found in the Science & Tech section.

Google has also added “Breaking Stories” for each category, which we think is a great way to get news from sources you’re otherwise unfamiliar with. As for the widget, we can only say that it’s about time. Our only gripe is that it takes up ¾ of the screen due to its 4 x 3 layout.

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