Engineers don't make those kinds of decisions.
Exactly this. Amazing engineers can still be run by brain dead management. Turns out being a manager gets you more decision making power though.
it wasn't an engineering decision
The two aren't related either. Google Now was contextual information, articles were more of a symptom.
It could correctly assume you need the saved location of your card when you got up after sitting for a while at a restaurant. That kind of stuff.
The discover feed is more the reddit default frontpage. Completely different idea.
"How can we make more money?"
They moved the google now features to assistant. It's basically the same thing that happened with inbox. Google Discover only really exists to sell you stuff. It's ads. All of it. Google Now features like package tracking, flight tracking, bill reminders etc? Available in some way shape or form in Google Assistant. You know, as a way to sell you on IOT devices like Smart Displays and speakers.
I recently started getting ads on my discover feed, it was the last Google thing to be ad free, it used to be a good selection of my interests and local news, I've turned it off now as it's full of irrelevant crap and adverts.
Android
DROID DOES
Welcome to the droidymcdroidface-iest, Lemmyest (Lemmiest), test, bestest, phoniest, pluckiest, snarkiest, and spiciest Android community on Lemmy (Do not respond)! Here you can participate in amazing discussions and events relating to all things Android.
The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:
Rules
1. All posts must be relevant to Android devices/operating system.
2. Posts cannot be illegal or NSFW material.
3. No spam, self promotion, or upvote farming. Sources engaging in these behavior will be added to the Blacklist.
4. Non-whitelisted bots will be banned.
5. Engage respectfully: Harassment, flamebaiting, bad faith engagement, or agenda posting will result in your posts being removed. Excessive violations will result in temporary or permanent ban, depending on severity.
6. Memes are not allowed to be posts, but are allowed in the comments.
7. Posts from clickbait sources are heavily discouraged. Please de-clickbait titles if it needs to be submitted.
8. Submission statements of any length composed of your own thoughts inside the post text field are mandatory for any microblog posts, and are optional but recommended for article/image/video posts.
Community Resources:
We are Android girls*,
In our Lemmy.world.
The back is plastic,
It's fantastic.
*Well, not just girls: people of all gender identities are welcomed here.
Our Partner Communities: