When it comes to accessing news or any kind of information, all you really need is a reliable Android smartphone. But how do you access said information? Do you rely on a web browser to read the latest news? Many of them are not that well optimized for mobile.
Alternatively, you could scour the Play Store for a particular game, fitness app, or news app, but there are thousands of them. On the App Store side, for a reasonable $9.99 per month, Apple News gives you access to newspapers and popular magazines across different industries.
But there’s one problem with Apple News: it’s not a great user experience, especially on Android. Users often criticize the app for its disorderly design and the prevalence of intrusive ads, even when using the paid version. In this roundup, we cover a selection of Apple News alternatives on Android and how they stack up against one another.
AP News
No, unfortunately, the name of this app doesn’t stand for Android Police. But feel free to check our news section for all the latest surrounding Android. In this case, though, AP stands for the Associated Press, and AP News compiles the latest happenings from the Associated Press website. The app covers a wide array of categories, including sports, entertainment, technology, and business. In addition, the app also provides access to photos, videos, and audio content.
In other words, regardless of whether you’re looking for the latest on your favorite NFL team or changes in the stock market, you’re likely to find this information on AP News.
Feedly – Smarter News Reader
Feedly is an all-in-one app that compiles news articles and posts from a wide selection of sources. The app allows you to create a personalized news feed sourced from your chosen websites, but it also compiles social posts from platforms like Twitter and YouTube.
In addition to news and blogs, you can see posts from content creators and media personalities that you follow, all in one place. Feedly makes it easy to access your favorite content without needing to open different applications.
Starting at $6 per month, Feedly hides ads and unlocks additional features in the form of highlighters and premium fonts. Sure, there’s a price attached for a premium experience, but it’s still cheaper than Apple News.
Good News
Corruption, crime, poverty, and war, among other things; it often seems like news revolves exclusively around negative events. Stories can often leave you heartbroken, disappointed, desperate, or plain depressed. Good News is a Berlin-based startup that offers a different perspective on the world and humanity. And best of all, it does this at no cost to you. Every week, the Good News app compiles wholesome stories from around the globe.
The app puts an emphasis on stories that conclude on a positive note or leave you with a more optimistic outlook on the future. Topics include conservation and animal rights, sustainability and circular energy, education and social services, and human rights, just to name a few.
Inoreader allows you to organize content into thematic feeds. Whether it’s an authoritative news source or a personal blog you follow, select from your favorite publishers, add them to the feed, and scroll through them in one steady stream.
By default, the app provides access to 150 feeds, as well as easy sharing and saving for any written material you enjoy. Inoreader also offers a subscription plan: a PRO Plan for $9.99 per month or $89.99 per year. While the subscription gives you access to premium features, such as unlimited feeds and article translation, none of them are mandatory to enjoy the content that Inoreader offers.
Inshorts – 60 Words News
How long does it take you to read a typical news article? Two minutes? Maybe three if it’s a longer piece. But if you read, say, ten pieces of news content every day, that adds up to 20-30 minutes of your time.
Inshorts cuts the time it takes to read the news to a minimum. The app covers news with a brief headline and an equally brief body with all the facts you need to know. Inshorts compiles news from a broad spectrum of sources, including Reuters, The Guardian, the New York Times, and more.
So, no matter what type of news you’re looking for, Inshorts is likely to bring it to you in 60 words or less.
Opera News: Breaking & Local
Opera News is brought to you by Opera, a company you might be familiar with thanks to its web browser. This app brings together news from more than 500 sources, both global and local, from business and tech to health and travel. Choose topics that matter to you, and Opera News will compile the latest developments into one clear stream. Opera News also boasts a seemingly proprietary compression technology that should keep battery consumption to a minimum.
Unlike many other news apps, Opera News doesn’t include a subscription model and doesn’t require you to pay in order to access any of its content.
Pocket: Save. Read. Grow
Pocket is owned by the Mozilla Corporation, another company that you might recall develops a web browser, just like Opera. Pocket allows you to create a feed based on anything you’re interested in or passionate about. Whether it’s a news article from The Guardian, a motivational productivity post on Medium, or a cat video from someone you follow on Twitter, Pocket organizes all of it, either in written, audio, or video form.
For $44.99 per year, Pocket offers a premium membership that gives you access to additional features, such as the ability to create a library of articles and access to premium fonts. But apart from that, Pocket doesn’t paywall its content.
PressReader
PressReader is another app that boasts an impressive selection of magazines and newspapers, as well as an abundance of positive reviews on the Play Store. With the free plan, you get access to over 100 newspapers and over 50 magazines. This should suffice for most readers who wish to stay in the know.
That said, if you’re an avid consumer of information, PressReader offers a monthly subscription that opens up a selection of over 7000 magazines and newspapers. A premium subscription comes out at a rather steep price of $29.99 per month, but you can try the app out for seven days to see if it’s worth the money.
News on your Android device
Considering Apple’s pricing and subpar user experience on Android, it’s much easier to find alternatives to Apple News. What app do you use to catch up on the latest events? Maybe you prefer a good old-fashioned newspaper instead? Whichever the case, everyone should be able to find something that suits their needs within today’s roundup
