Google has pushed a new beta update to its Google app and this update details how the last remnant of Google Now will soon be killed. It also hints at some minor tweaks to Podcasts and Lens. It features a “deprecation_warning” for a widget. “Feed” is most likely to be removed since how it is the last piece linked to Google Now.
Instead of Feed, it will push ‘At-a-glance widget’ that features the date, weather, calendar and other information. Moving along, search in Google Podcasts is limited to a high lookup of shows currently. However, it might soon get the ability to surface individual episodes when searching in the Podcasts app. It is also in line with Google’s ambition to transcribe every podcast and make them searchable. The Podcasts Settings features a new toolbar with Help, Privacy, and Terms links.
The panel that describes Google Lens capabilities is also tweaked slightly; it includes categories and descriptions. “Places” is now changed to “Identify Plants and Animals.” There is a new ‘top apps’ feature with rounded search bar and cards. There seems to be a sheet to edit Feed articles, the “spark” icon for topics is present. This was last seen on a Pixel launcher feed redesign that Google was testing in April. Lastly, Google is also working on making the recommends apps more apparent in the search bar on the home screen.
You can either sign up for the beta testing on Play Store to update the Google app or download the APK and sideload it manually.