Google Expected to Unveil Revamped Google News at I/O 2018 Conference

Google is expected to reveal a revamped Google News app, featuring YouTube videos and Newsstand functionality.

According to a new report from AdAge, changes look set to involve a fresh design for the web interface that will also incorporate elements of Google’s digital magazine Newsstand app, which itself could be replaced.

The revamped tool is also expected to include the news section of YouTube as Google works to add depth to its content while making better use of video already available on its network of offerings.

“It’s a consolidation of all the ways you can interact with news on Google,” says one publishing executive who has been briefed on the plans, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There are a lot of Google services where you find news, and what they’re trying to do is bring it all under one brand.”

The company will also incorporate its Accelerated Mobile Apps (AMP) technology that helps web content to load more quickly on smartphones, the report said.

Google is also likely to shut the Newsstand platform which is a discovery platform for the latest news as well as magazines. Along with the changes on the desktop website, Google News is also likely to get updated apps on both Android and iOS.

For publishers, getting seen via Google News is critical for their reputation. But there’s also a concern that platforms such as Google News often give away too much information without requiring users to land on publishers’ websites, leading to lower traffic and ad revenue.

“Any way Google can rethink how it presents news that better protects the news brands and consumers is positive,” says Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next and a publisher advocate. “If it brings monetization along too, then it will find open arms from publishers.”

Currently, Google News is mostly an article and text heavy service that collates the top news with various filters for interests and regions.  This updated product is reportedly being announced at Google’s I/O conference this year as part of efforts to help publishers consolidate how they interact with Google in regards to news.

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