AI readers pick: Your favorite news app for iPhone and iPad is Apple News

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2015
We asked our AppleInsider readers to vote for the best news reading app for iOS. The winner is the stock Apple News app that comes built into iOS 9, with competitor Flipboard coming in second.




Last week we asked you to weigh in on your favorite news app for iPhone and iPad. You nominated: Twitter, SmartNews, Notify by Facebook, Google News, Flipboard, Breaking News, and Apple News.

After thousands of votes...



The winner of the AppleInsider Reader's Choice Award goes to the stock News app that's built in to iOS -- Apple News. Two contests in a row, it was a resounding victory for the Apple-created apps, with Apple's stock Notes app winning last time. Apple's News app was first released with the iOS 9 update in September.

The biggest knock against the stock News app is that it's availability is presently limited to the U.S., U.K., and Australia. Even if you live in one of these countries with access to the News app, Apple shuts off your access when traveling to China, for example.

We have detailed many of the features that News brings. In fact, it is very similar to the our runner up, Flipboard. Both share a magazine-inspired layout with large images and the ability to follow topics.

Many users pointed out that the lines are blurring between what constitutes a "news app" and what is simply a glorified RSS reader. We decided to include them all, as different people use different types of applications to source and read their news. Finally, Feedly, Zite, BBC News, and News 360 weren't initially nominated but were written in by enough voters to make the final list.

Final Results


1. Apple News (37%)
2. Flipboard (20%)
3. Twitter (7%)
4. Google News (7%)
5. Feedly (4%)
6. SmartNews (4%)
7. Zite (acquired by Flipboard) (2%)
8. Breaking News (2%)
9. BBC News (1%)
10. News 360 (1%)
11. Notify by Facebook (0%)

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    I just recently started using the stock news app, and I absolutely love it. 
    lostkiwiapplepieguy
  • Reply 2 of 21
    friedmudfriedmud Posts: 165member
    The News App is really good... and it is _awesome_ on an iPad Pro. It feels like holding a digital magazine... like those seen in futuristic movies (or kind of like a Harry Potter newspaper). It's huge, bright and super smooth. The thing I really like about all of the Apple Apps these days is that syncing is seamless between all of my devices... and that includes the News App. I love that I see the same news stream on my iPhone as I do on my iPad. Now, we just need the same App for OSX...
    lostkiwiapplepieguy
  • Reply 3 of 21
    wovelwovel Posts: 956member
    Fine when it loads.  Sometimes loading new stories takes way too long.  Apple should also add an option to keep configuration and position in synch between devices.  
    lostkiwi
  • Reply 4 of 21
    neilhneilh Posts: 1member
    the stock News app in iOS 9 is just a very simple, but very well designed and very user friendly app... Nothing else come remotely close...
    lostkiwi
  • Reply 5 of 21
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Still not available in Canada (though I do have the news feed available via right swipe.)
    edited December 2015
  • Reply 6 of 21
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    I love the stock news app. It's great being able to check out sports news and National Geographic articles all in one place. 
    lostkiwi
  • Reply 7 of 21
    hmlongcohmlongco Posts: 537member
    I loved Zite but Flipboard took it over, refused to update it, and then discontinued it this month. Apparently they thought that Flipboard met everyone's needs.

    It didn't, so I switched to Apple News.
  • Reply 8 of 21
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    I finally tried it out. I chose "my favorites". Then it showed me mostly stories from sources I didn't choose. Done.

    i hate "the news" anyway. Surest way to have a bad day is to suck in all the BS that media companies obsess over because it sells advertising.
  • Reply 9 of 21
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    dysamoria said:
    I finally tried it out. I chose "my favorites". Then it showed me mostly stories from sources I didn't choose. Done.

    i hate "the news" anyway. Surest way to have a bad day is to suck in all the BS that media companies obsess over because it sells advertising.
    If you chose a 'topic' instead of a specific site you're going to get news of the topic from various sources. 
    diegogapplepieguy
  • Reply 10 of 21
    mvigodmvigod Posts: 172member
    You polled an audience of hardcore Apple fans and followers and they picked apple news over the others?  Is anyone surprised?  Not sure this poll represents the whole USA or world though.  This is like polling who is your favorite baseball team at Yankee stadium.  Pretty sure the Yankees will win that.  

    Not saying the Apple app is bad.  Just the poll is meaningless because of the audience polled
    thepixeldoc
  • Reply 11 of 21
    techlovertechlover Posts: 879member
    I prefer using a browser over a dedicated app for things like the news.

    Opening multiple links in multiple tabs is what I prefer when browsing news, sports, and in general the web.

    I guess I am old school. 
  • Reply 12 of 21
    eugeeuge Posts: 19member
    mvigod said:
    You polled an audience of hardcore Apple fans and followers and they picked apple news over the others?  Is anyone surprised?  Not sure this poll represents the whole USA or world though.  This is like polling who is your favorite baseball team at Yankee stadium.  Pretty sure the Yankees will win that.  

    Not saying the Apple app is bad.  Just the poll is meaningless because of the audience polled
    The poll isn't meaningless because of the audience polled. It is targeted towards AI readers and gives us insight into the AI community. The title is specific in this as well, starting with "AI readers pick." It would be completely different and inaccurate if it had been entitled something like, "People prefer Apple's News app over others."

    Even if it's no surprise that Apple's News app came out first, it gives us insight into how much of AI's reader population prefers it over other apps.  The poll is clearly targeted towards AI readers.

    Plus it started this thread. I thought it interesting to read why other switched. I also found it interesting that "Feedly, Zite, BBC News, and News 360 weren't initially nominated but were written in by enough voters to make the final list."
  • Reply 13 of 21
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    techlover said:
    I prefer using a browser over a dedicated app for things like the news.

    Opening multiple links in multiple tabs is what I prefer when browsing news, sports, and in general the web.

    I guess I am old school. 
    I'm the same way. Sometimes there is a link within the article itself that I want to read after I'm finished. So websites are where I go mostly.
  • Reply 14 of 21
    bb-15bb-15 Posts: 283member
    mvigod said:
    You polled an audience of hardcore Apple fans and followers and they picked apple news over the others?  Is anyone surprised?  Not sure this poll represents the whole USA or world though.  This is like polling who is your favorite baseball team at Yankee stadium.  Pretty sure the Yankees will win that.  

    Not saying the Apple app is bad.  Just the poll is meaningless because of the audience polled
    Obviously the poll does not represent "the whole USA". It is a poll of Apple Insider readers. And the poll is not meaningless. Apple customers will not automatically use an Apple app. For instance when Apple Maps first broke away from using Google data, Apple Maps was not that good. And at first Google Maps was used more often on iOS. But after a while Apple Maps got better and more Apple customers used it compared with Google Maps . So, asking AI readers about their favorite news app / site is helpful to see how well apps are doing with Apple customers.
  • Reply 15 of 21
    techlovertechlover Posts: 879member
    bb-15 said:
    mvigod said:
    You polled an audience of hardcore Apple fans and followers and they picked apple news over the others?  Is anyone surprised?  Not sure this poll represents the whole USA or world though.  This is like polling who is your favorite baseball team at Yankee stadium.  Pretty sure the Yankees will win that.  

    Not saying the Apple app is bad.  Just the poll is meaningless because of the audience polled
    Obviously the poll does not represent "the whole USA". It is a poll of Apple Insider readers. And the poll is not meaningless. Apple customers will not automatically use an Apple app. For instance when Apple Maps first broke away from using Google data, Apple Maps was not that good. And at first Google Maps was used more often on iOS. But after a while Apple Maps got better and more Apple customers used it compared with Google Maps . So, asking AI readers about their favorite news app / site is helpful to see how well apps are doing with Apple customers.
    I wonder what the usage numbers of Apple Maps versus Google Maps would be if the user could select Google Maps as the default app.
  • Reply 16 of 21
    brakkenbrakken Posts: 687member
    Wow. Mr Reader didn't even get a showing ;(( I'm disappointed with Apple's News because it only represents corporate news services, and it has none of Mr Reader's customisability.
  • Reply 17 of 21
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,302member
    brakken said:
    Wow. Mr Reader didn't even get a showing ;(( I'm disappointed with Apple's News because it only represents corporate news services, and it has none of Mr Reader's customisability.
    I never heard of Mr Reader, but thanks to you, I'm giving it a try.
  • Reply 18 of 21
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    quadra 610 said:
    Still not available in Canada (though I do have the news feed available via right swipe.)
    FYI, you can get Apple News in Canada, by changing region to United States in your General preferences.
  • Reply 19 of 21
    nevermarknevermark Posts: 38member
    bb-15 said:
    mvigod said:
    You polled an audience of hardcore Apple fans and followers and they picked apple news over the others?  Is anyone surprised?  [...]
    Obviously the poll does not represent "the whole USA". It is a poll of Apple Insider readers. And the poll is not meaningless. [...]
    Not 100% meaningless just mostly meaningless.  Perhaps you have some business or personal reason for caring about Apple Insider readership behavior instead of actual Apple customer behavior, but most people don't.

    And even with Apple Maps vs Google Maps, there is a huge advantage for Apple Maps.  (I am not making any judgement about either, just pointing out that it is not a level playing field.)

    There is always some self-wanking on fan sites, it is to be expected.  But at least recognize that instead of denying it.

    For what its worth, I do like and use Apple News.

    A more meaningful poll would have been the usage rates of Apple News vs. news apps on Android, or simply a timeline of Apple News usage.  In both cases, what customer preference was being revealed would be clearer.
  • Reply 20 of 21
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    satchmo said:
    quadra 610 said:
    Still not available in Canada (though I do have the news feed available via right swipe.)
    FYI, you can get Apple News in Canada, by changing region to United States in your General preferences.

    Thank you, but I shouldn't have to.    ;) 
    thepixeldoc
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