Newsstand is dead. Yesterday, Apple introduced its replacement, a News app that bears a striking resemblance to an improved version of the popular Flipboard app.
This replaces the lukewarm Newsstand app which was never adopted to the standard Apple would’ve liked. The service displays content on-screen in a vertically scrolling fashion, with news aggregated from key services such as the New York Times, Wired, Conde Nast, ESPN and many more (including blogs and local news). When the user wants to change article, a simple finger-swipe to the right will jump to the next piece of news available. Articles will be delivered straight to the platform and will mirror the design layout of their home publication, creating a consistent experience between web and application.
Although it works like a typical RSS newsreader on the outside, Apple says it can analyse what you read and recommend relevant content from around the world. The good news is that the application will be completely free but that will come at a cost – advertisements. How Apple is going to implement them remains to be seen as the demo version displayed on-stage didn’t feature any ads. Publishers will be able to keep any revenue made from advertisements within the app, a nice incentive to get them jumping onto the platform.
News will be rolled out in the US, UK, and Australia along with iOS 9 this fall. If you want to get your hands on it early, there’s a public beta sometime next month.
For more on Apple, visit What Mobile’s dedicated Apple page.