Another Google app is dead. Fortunately, unlike Reader, Schemer, Wave, or a host of other applications, it rises from the flames in the form of Google Play Newsstand. The new application features everything that we gained from using Currents with Play Magazines wound into the service.

Back in November, Google launched Newsstand as a service that tied in Currents with Magazines. They made no specific mention, but we know that over a period of time that the Google Currents app would cease to exist. With an update today to Google Currents, the application is summarily shut down and the user is rerouted to Play Newsstand. For users that have Currents installed but now Newsstand, it will direct the Play Store to open and it will in turn allow Newsstand to be downloaded and Currents to be uninstalled.

When you visit Google Currents in the Play Store, this is what they advise:
Google Play Newsstand is the new home for all your favorites news, magazines, blogs, and more. Newsstand updates and replaces Google Currents, which is no longer available for download or use. For existing Currents users, all your subscriptions will instantly transfer and be available for you in Newsstand. Discover a better way to enjoy all the news you love with Google Play Newsstand now. Find articles recommended just for you in Read Now, topics to follow, and premier news partners like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Guardian, and more.
The rest of the transfer should occur seamlessly in the background. Any magazine subscriptions should carry over to the new app. That goes for any blog, newspaper, or other subscription you gathered over your Currents experience. Older versions should still work, but that will probably cease at any time.

The application in turn is now poised to compete with Flipboard, Feedly, Press, and other readers in the same space. Google is hoping they can glean your reading patterns to suggest rich material to keep the application interesting. They also would really like for users to start subscribing to magazines and newspapers but the verdict is still out there for many. The only question left is if Google will support Newsstand or will it join Currents on the ash heap of app history? Let us know if you think it has a chance or how you use Newsstand in the comments.





Play Newsstand is available for Free in the Google Play store.​



H/T: Android Police