Need A News App? Here Are My Top 5 Across Android, Linux, And iOS
Source: ZDNet, Jack Wallen, Contributing Writer
Photo: Jack Wallen/ZDNET
If keeping up with the news is high on your list of daily tasks, you might want to consider using one of these apps.
During the day, I regularly peek at various news sites to see what’s happening. I like to stay informed, up-to-date, and knowledgeable about the topics that are important to me.
Instead of opening another tab in a web browser for each news site, I prefer to use aggregator apps, which either present the top stories an algorithm decides I’ll want to read or allow me to configure specific sites or topics. These apps mean I can open a single window to view the news item or click a link to open a new browser tab, where I can view the piece in question.
I find this method of consuming news more efficient and effective. But what apps do I use? I have five that I can happily recommend. Let me highlight each of them.
1. Google News
This is the first place I look each morning. What I like most about Google News is that I can use the app on a phone, a tablet, or the web — and the experience is pretty much the same across the board.
On top of that, I can quickly view the For You section (which is generated based on the news items I open over time), Headlines (which is a general feed of headlines from numerous sources), and Following (which lists only the news sites I follow).
I can even follow various news showcases, which are stories selected by newsroom editors. Once I follow a source from the Newsstand section, it will add news to the For You section, alongside stories based on my history.
If Google News isn’t already on your phone/tablet, you can install it from the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. If you prefer reading your news in a web browser, go to Google News and start reading.
Google News is free, but some stories it links to might be behind a paywall.
2. Google app
When I’m short on time but still need a news fix, I swipe right on my Pixel 8 Pro and start reading headlines in the Google app. If you’re not using a phone with the Pixel Launcher, you can open the Google app from the App Drawer and see stories that should be interesting to you.
To configure what you see in this feed, open the Google app’s Settings page and tap Manage Your Interests. You can then follow/unfollow topics that have been added based on your searches.
This is the app I use when I’m just interested in seeing what’s going on and less keen to dig deep into the news.
The Google app is free and is pre-installed on all Android phones/tablets, but you might find some stories it links to are behind a paywall.
3. Apple News
I head to Apple News when I’m on my MacBook Pro. This app has the best UI (by far) and is the easiest to customize. On top of that, adding new sources is just a matter of searching for a source and clicking/tapping the associated + button.
Apple News is to MacOS/iOS what Google News is to Android, but with a superior UI.
You can add as many news sources as you like, and clicking on an item allows you to view the story within the app instead of opening a web browser. By opening stories this way, you still have instant access to the sidebar, where your sources live, which makes for a more efficient and effective interaction.
Apple News is free and is pre-installed on all iOS phones/tablets, but you might find some stories it links to are behind a paywall.
4. NewsFlash
NewsFlash is my Linux RSS news aggregator of choice. I prefer this app — and there are plenty of RSS readers for the platform — because it has a clean UI and adding RSS feeds doesn’t require me to hunt down URLs from websites that don’t place them front and center.
Instead of locating RSS feeds on websites, you only need to click the three horizontal line menu button, select Discover Feeds, select a top feed (or enter a search string), and add any news feeds you want to view.
The only problem I’ve found with NewsFlash is that some of the subscriptions I’ve added, which are all free, present headlines with no content. Those stories tend to be either audio or video. For the most part, however, NewsFlash does a great job of presenting the news I need and want to read.
NewsFlash is free to install on any Linux distribution that supports Flatpak.
5. Newsify
Newsify is another MacOS/iOS app, but this one isn’t installed by default. This news reader allows you to access news, blogs, and RSS feeds, with a UI similar to Apple News.
There’s a large amount of sources to choose from, with topics that include politics, technology, sports, business, finance, design, fashion, photography, entertainment, gaming, music, and cocking.
Like Apple News, when you click on an article, it remains within the Newsify app and doesn’t open a browser window. You can also sign up for TestFlight, which allows you to test beta releases of the app. You can create an account and sync your feeds across devices.
Newsify is free to install on both MacOS and iOS.
And that’s all the news that’s worth reading. Or at least it could be if you try one of these news readers.