Apple News is a completely new app in iOS 9. This app is based on the former Dutch app PRSS, which Apple acquired in 2014. The app looks like Flipboard, but there are also clear differences. In this article, you can read all about the Apple news app: what can you do with it, can make use of it and how you can you join as a publisher?
Apple News succeeding Newsstand
In iOS 9, a new app in joins the OS: News. This app collects all the news articles you want to read from well-known news sources such as CNN, Wired, and weblogs. The items you see are based on the topics you find most interesting. You do not have to visit multiple apps to stay informed. Just like Flipboard, articles are nicely presented, with great photos.
Apple News will start in a few English-speaking countries: the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. The News app replaces the Kiosk (Newsstand) in iOS, which had been forgotten over the years. Apple announced Newsstand in October 2011, as a solution to offer newspapers and magazines in one place. You could buy loose numbers of newspaper and magazine subscriptions. This function is taken over by News in iOS 9 app. It is still possible to develop news apps, but if you are looking for a central location for news and background articles, then you will soon find it in the 9 News iOS app.
News app: anyone can join
Apple will open the News app for virtually everyone, we already suspect that there will be strict rules about nudity, discrimination and hatred. Apple News will be present by default in IOS 9 and thus reach immediately a lot more people than competitor Flipboard. Apple is working with a number of publishers such as Time, Wired, Vanity Fair, CNN, The Atlantic, ESPN, BuzzFeed, Quartz, NPR and Daring Fireball. It thus comes to traditional news organizations and blogs.
News App: How it works
You can choose in the News app from multiple news sources and topics such as travel, science and cooking. In the “For You” section, you get to see articles that meet your taste. Publishers can make articles directly available in the News app, or pack in Apple News Format, a special file in which they have more control over the formatting and branding.
Publishers can create beautiful layouts with their own fonts, extensive photo galleries, videos and animations with the Apple News Format. The file format is optimized for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. You edit it once and the News app makes it look nice on all devices. You also get tools to measure statistics such as how much interaction the readers show, what articles they read, and how often they open a specific article.
Apple News: two variants
Interested developers can request permission to submit articles through the News Publisher (actually via iCloud). Then there are two options:
- Simply start with the RSS format, like Flipboard.
- Formatting text in Apple News Format.
The latter is slightly more complicated, but it delivers better formatting.
Make Money with Apple News
If you advertise in the articles, you can keep 100% of the earnings. That is very attractive. If you don’t want or not have the time to sell ads, it can also be done through Apple’s iAd. You get the usual 70% of revenues while the remaining 30% goes to Apple.
Sign up for Apple News
Anyone can sign up for Apple news, whether you are a large or small publisher. Even people can participate in a personal blog. You have to have a website with articles, you want to share with others.
- Go to Apple’s News Publisher Portal.
- Sign in with your Apple ID and password. This is the Apple ID which will be associated with your publication.
- Agree to the terms of use.
- Enter your details, such as name of the publication, address, phone number and more.
- Indicate the name of your channel and website address.
- You also indicate to what audience the channel is intended and what language you’ll publish.
- Optionally, you can set multiple channels, by clicking on ‘Create New Channel.’
It is then a matter of waiting until Apple approves your site. Because the News app will first start in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom it is unlikely that non-English publications are approved quickly.