7 Best Free News Apps For iPhone And Android Users

 

Newspapers may be struggling, but news and information remain vital and relevant. We now access it from smartphones and tablets rather than waiting patiently for its arrival – much easier and quicker. Staying abreast of current events is crucially important, yet many no longer consider purchasing daily newspapers as they now can turn to apps instead of hard copies for updates on happenings around the globe. There are great Android or iPhone news apps which deliver timely news coverage when needed.

No matter where life leads them, readers want to remain up-to-date at all times and an immersive news app can deliver this promise with superior user experiences.

This list presents the top news apps designed to keep customers abreast of events that matter and keep them coming back for more. Connect with the iOS or android app development company to help you take maximum advantage of this growing industry.

 

News Applications: Overview

 

News apps give readers access to the data behind a story. From searchable databases and sleek visualizations, to other forms such as analytic tools or narrative storytelling – news apps allow readers to engage with data in ways relevant to them: browsing crime rates in their local area or investigating medical care provider safety records or searching political contributions made to candidates of choice.

News apps don’t just produce infographics. The best news apps are long-lasting products that live outside the news cycle and aid readers by solving real-life problems or answering queries in such an intriguing or useful manner that they become lasting resources. When ProPublica journalists wanted to investigate kidney dialysis clinic safety in America, they created an application which helped users check whether their hometown clinic was safe. By creating such an important and relevant service for users they forged deeper bonds than just writing narrative stories would ever allow.

 

News Mobile App: Detailed Market Insights

 

Analyzing the role of news apps & social-media forums on global audiences, available data reveals that half of Americans adults access news via social media. When we compare that percentage usage of news app usage between countries around the globe, Sweden leads with 37 % usage while South Korea and Spain follow suit at 33% and 27% respectively.

Pew Research Center reports a decline in both circulation and revenue of newspapers in the United States. Weekday circulation declined 10 percent according to Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) reports; this trend can even be observed in India where readership numbers dropped as did those for Europe such as Germany, France and Britain. According to Statista estimates, retail sales of periodicals have dropped drastically since 2008 in the UK with total retail sales being recorded as 3971 million then dropping down to 2718 million by 2016.

 

News Mobile App: Benefits It Brings In

 

There are various factors that defines the best news apps, and we will highlight just a few here:

 

Increase Revenue

 

A mobile application’s revenue can be expanded by including functionality for advertising and marketing within its app. This could help increase earnings.

 

Higher Conversion Rate

 

Mobile applications experience much higher conversion rates compared to physical newspapers or magazines due to being user-centric whereas physical newspapers don’t permit direct user-to-user communication.

 

User Attraction

 

News apps boast greater user attraction than physical magazines due to allowing direct user communication; additionally if a user has any feedback they can give directly and offer suggestions directly into the application – providing invaluable ideas on how to increase its likeability for app owners.

 

Gain More Subscribers

 

The app makes reaching new and additional subscribers much simpler, increasing readers to your news or content.

 

Personalization

 

News Mobile App provides app owners the capability of serving personalized content based on users’ behavior, while serving advertisements based on these user interests – helping increase conversion rate and generate additional revenues.

 

Enhanced Reach

 

With news apps, reaching more customers efficiently becomes much simpler; content distribution becomes straightforward. All app users can be instantly informed with one tap of their mobile screen or system screen.

 

News Mobile Apps: Types To Look For

 

There are generally two different kinds of news apps:

 

News Aggregator Apps

News aggregator apps cover regional, national and international events in real-time. Users often take to these apps as it keeps them informed on breaking world news whenever desired; but its key feature should be providing content which captures people’s attention instantly; breaking stories related to politics, crime, business, sports & entertainment events across various cities can all be included here in one convenient location! App owners decide whether the content can be accessed free or paid-for as per user preferences.

News Resources Apps

 

These mobile applications for news resources would prove particularly valuable for owners/operators of newspapers & web media outlets.

 

Monetization Strategies For News App

 

One of the primary goals in creating mobile applications is increasing revenues. Similarly, with News Mobile Apps too, monetization strategies need to be determined so as to generate maximum returns and profits. Below we have provided several models of monetization suitable for News Apps:

Paid Subscriptions

 

Another popular app monetization strategy, paid subscriptions can often prove unattractive for users who feel obliged to shell out money to stay informed about news stories. Therefore, two separate versions should be introduced during release; Paid and Free versions offering users with ads-free experience along with tailored services in both cases.

 

Advertisements

 

Advertisements are one of the main monetization models utilized by News mobile applications. Advertising within apps differs significantly from print newspapers as there may be various advertisement formats present such as splash ads during app release as well as regular ones displayed continuously on user screens.

 

Organise Events

 

Once app owners see that their audience responds well, another way they can monetize it could be hosting several events to advertise the app and use them as promotional platforms for this type of monetization strategy.

 

Integrating an Ecommerce Store

 

Integrating a mini ecommerce store could draw customers and keep them engaged on your app for extended periods. This could increase customer purchase of products as well as keeping users interested for extended duration.

 

Donations

 

This method of monetization isn’t often implemented and works best when an app has an established user following. Under this scheme, readers of an online magazine could make donations in support of supporting it financially.

 

 

7 Best Free News Apps For iPhone And Android Users

 

Below are the best free news apps considered by the iPhone and Android users. 

 

Google News

 

Google News, the successor to Google Play Newsstand, is as polished and user-friendly as you’d imagine it would be. Pulling news sources from around the globe, you should have no difficulty discovering your preferred sites or publications. Set daily briefings or go full coverage if that suits your taste best – plus save stories or download particular publications to read later with its built-in recommendation system! As with most things these days, your experience with it should become better over time – the more you use Google News!

 

BBC News

 

British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) is widely acknowledged as one of the premier news sites, keeping readers up-to-date with stories and videos as soon as they emerge. Their world news app for iOS and Android, My News, features innovative ways to keep readers engaged. Users may navigate where they wish and visit sections they prefer such as Top Headlines, Economy or Breaking News; live-streamed channels create the TV news experience on mobile; with breaking news notifications keeping people abreast of what matters.

 

The New York Times

 

The New York Times is America’s paper of record for over one hundred years, providing “All the news that’s fit to print.” Renowned globally for their award-winning journalism, The Times offers digital subscribers access to its newspaper app – ideal for offline reading on public transportation (such as New York subway lines or metro systems worldwide) without internet connectivity; breaking news alerts + notifications of topics of interest plus its clean user interface which readers find easy.

 

Microsoft Start

 

Microsoft Start’s approach to news aggregation is similar to Google News in many respects:

• It learns from your reading habits to adapt and provide tailored news items based on what interests and sources are relevant to you. Also on manual customization of specific topics as well.
• There are two tabs displaying news: News and Home. Home tab provides Top and Trending Stories while News tab displays your personalized Daily Briefing section. 

 

Flipboard

 

Flipboard takes an unconventional visual approach that attempts to simulate an authentic magazine experience with page flip animations in your news feed and large grid layout. Furthermore, human-curated editorial tabs such as The Daily Edition and Flipboard Picks help organize everything visually; you can save articles for later reading or mark them favorites for future viewing. Furthermore, Flipboard also enables users to follow specific topics while creating personalized magazines they can publish publicly for everyone’s reading pleasure.

 

Apple News

 

As with other Apple applications, the News app comes preinstalled on every iOS device and remains unavailable on Android platforms. Dedicated to images and quickly loading videos, publications like The New York Times and National Geographic have teamed up with them to make their content readily available; trends or individual topics spanning politics or niche topics may also be tracked using Apple News; giving access to over 300 magazines at just $10 monthly subscription is truly unbeatable!

 

Inkl

 

Inkl provides a customizable news and feed reader app, tailored specifically for both free users and those willing to upgrade for pro features. Users can subscribe to RSS Feeds, blogs, podcasts, social media searches and social sharing via Buffer/HootSuite/Pocket. They can save directly into Pocket/Google Drive/HootSuite etc if desired. Additionally, if paying $50 annual Pro subscription they get unlimited topic/feed subscriptions, rules-based automations/filtering etc for personalizing reading experience to completely customize feed reading experience!

 

News Reading Apps: Features To Consider

 

Every app must integrate basic functions, but advanced functionalities may also be added for greater user benefit. In the News Mobile App these advanced features are easily utilized by app users.

 

Filtering

 

A news app’s intelligent news filtering functionality enables its users to filter various news sections such as business, sports, politics and international. Users may select filters like Breaking News or Most Popular to organize the material at hand.

 

Push Notification

 

Its Push notifications are essential features in a news app as they increase user retention by sending key updates regarding news stories or special offers to their audience.

 

Search / Information Locating

 

By making use of this feature, users will easily be able to locate relevant news/information by simply inputting some relevant keywords.

 

Night Mode

 

This feature provides an alternative way of reading news in low light conditions without straining their eyes or straining to see.

 

Smartwatch Integration

 

Now people can stay updated with the latest news by reading it directly from their smartwatches – an incredibly advanced feature for tech savvy news app users!

 

Constant News Update

 

Apps must include features to regularly and continuously update users with news that is happening around them and inform them on global happenings. Administrators need to monitor such updates so as not to disappoint users with outdated or out of date news updates.

 

Personalization

 

Under this feature, users will be shown content that best satisfies their tastes.

 

Audio & Video Integration

 

Users with limited time often prefer listening to news in audio format rather than reading it themselves; audio format makes this task simpler, enabling the listener to turn any news article into audio and listen while watching videos as an option. Video Integration could also be implemented since most viewers would rather watch news than read about it themselves.

 

Content Management System

 

A powerful and robust Content Management System can also be provided as part of backend development. To ensure content is managed systematically and when conducting surveys on critical matters. Opinion polls may even be carried out.

 

Voice Assistance

 

A news reading mobile app may also take advantage of voice search trends for search and help maximize its benefits.

 

Follow A News Topic

 

A user could select topics of their interest within an app to “follow topic”, with their feed automatically updating with articles related to only these chosen subjects as soon as they open it up.

 

Filtering System

 

A news app should offer users the capability of finding news articles based on categories they select; similarly, content should also be organized by topic for easier searching.

 

Offline Mode

Users should still be able to utilize an app without internet connectivity, saving articles on smartphones or tablets and reading even without connectivity.

 

Real Time Analytics

 

Providing real-time and historical reporting of news mobile apps and websites is an extremely beneficial practice that enables news providers to measure which of their content resonates well with audiences. Google Realtime Content Insights does a terrific job at giving insight into news based content performance.

 

Social Media Sharing

 

Your app users will love this functionality that allows them to quickly share news articles via one simple tap on their devices.

 

CRM System Integration

 

Integrating CRM systems in mobile apps enables sales, marketing and customer service teams to manage key information in real time.

 

Integrate Augmented Reality.

 

AR is another option that could make news apps more interactive and user-friendly, like how The New York Times uses it in their news app.

 

Loyalty Program Integration

 

Loyalty programs give their customers access to multiple offers across various news categories that allow them to earn rewards and benefits for being loyal customers.

 

Geo-Targeting

 

By employing this feature, the app can identify users’ devices’ locations and inform them about events taking place nearby.

 

A Word about Personalization

 

World media consumption habits have become more individualistic over the last century and cultural critics argue this has caused more harm than good; news sources tend to become siloed and people often live very separate lives from those consuming other news sources.

 

Personalization gone wrong can occur when watching YouTube videos created by those who believe the earth is flat. YouTube determines you like this content, sending more of it directly. If you’re highly susceptible to online videos, they could make you question whether NASA is being truthful with them.

 

Okay, probably not! After reading the blog, it should be evident that you’re an intelligent individual capable of rational thought. Yet personalization may lead us down an uncertain path as a species.

 

Personalization is at the core of these apps’ successes despite any associated downsides, mastering the art of providing user-relevant content based on individual interests and providing engagement options tailored specifically for them.

 

All this raises an intriguing question for app designers–how should ethical news apps compete while providing personalized content?

 

Solution? Curation having real people make decisions regarding which content will be presented rather than simply trusting in an algorithmic solution alone.

Editors at newspapers have long played an essential role in defining objective journalism; news aggregator sites must apply the same rigor when selecting their news sources to ensure they remain neutral and free of bias. Fact-checking opinions could also provide significant gains.

 

 

App Design Lessons for the Rest of Us

 

We at A3logics have designed and created an incredible number of apps since mobile technology first emerged – helping both startup teams and established companies bring their apps to market. Since mobile design and mobile app development services first became possible, our experts have become adept at seeing which solutions actually work well.

Even if you don’t intend on creating a news app yourself, studying existing ones can give an excellent indication of the greatest in mobile app market. Mobile apps often receive incredible amounts of traffic. Companies use this data to understand consumers better and deliver products which engage them.

 

Take a page out of the playbooks of top news apps when designing an app. Focus on providing an engaging experience while adding some level of personalization if it makes sense.

Your first release may not feature much customization, rather your focus may lie with creating an MVP and using user feedback to improve it further. But eventually, your aim should be a mature product offering an exceptional user experience that ensures customer loyalty.

 

Final Words

 

Hopefully you have got complete clarity about the best news applications that can be ideal to connect with users. These apps keep the iPhone and Android users engaged and serve them as per their specific needs. So, if you are thinking about investing in the same, you must understand the features and functionalities of these applications. It can help you have the application that matches the market needs. You can always consider taking the assistance of a professional mobile app development company who can guide you through the process. They can help you have the news application that serves the market to perfection.  

 

FAQs

 

What’s the best app to provide news summaries?

 

Staying informed can be challenging in an increasingly chaotic world. Some apps that do a fantastic job providing bite-size takeaways include Google News, Inshorts and Aadhan.

 

Can anyone recommend some news apps without ads?

 

Global events seem to be constantly unfolding and having unobtrusive reading experiences is essential in such an ever-evolving news cycle. Many news outlets provide premium editions without ads. The examples includes :

• Financial Times,
• Washington Post,
• Inkl
• New Yorker

 

Which platform best supports your news app?

 

Ensuring your app reaches its target audience is equally as vital to its development. iPhones make up approximately 58% of the US market. So, if your user base resides there it would make sense for Apple News + paid subscriptions to increase from 11 million in 2020 to 19 million by 2023. According to Statista projections – signalling growth within this sector and revenue opportunities available to grab. Alternatively, Android holds 72% global market share. If global install growth and increasing user bases are your objective then Android could be your go-to platform choice.

 

Which free news app offers reliable US coverage?

 

News outlets like Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and New York Times are highly-recognized as reliable resources. These deliver in-depth analyses and reports from all corners of the globe – including US news.