Google Launches Newsstand App for Android, Promises iOS App in 2014

googlenewsstandGoogle today launched a Newsstand app for Android, which combines its existing Flipboard-style Currents app, its Google Play magazine app, and a new newspaper subscription service to offer a variety of paid and free publications in one spot.

The new Google Newsstand app shares a name with Apple's own Newsstand and it also mimics the functionality of the built-in app that Apple first debuted in 2011. As with Apple's Newsstand, Google's Newsstand aggregates content in one convenient location, combining all of a user's subscriptions for magazines and newspapers.

Google does, however, go one step further, combining content from an array of sources into a single newsfeed, and the company has also partnered with multiple publications to offer subscriptions directly within its app. Google Newsstand shares several similarities with Apple Newsstand, but it is arguably more useful with its in-app subscriptions and its Flipboard-style feed.

Discover more of the news and magazines you care about on your Android tablet or phone. Enjoy breaking news and in-depth articles featuring audio, video, and more. From sports, business, cooking, entertainment, fashion and more - now get the best free and paid news plus vibrant full HD magazines, all in one place.

While Google's new Newsstand app is currently limited to Android devices, the company told TechCrunch that it plans to update its existing Currents app for iOS to a Newsstand app "early next year," where it will presumably compete with Apple's own Newsstand app.

In the past, Apple has not taken kindly to companies who adopt similar product names, famously filing a trademark lawsuit against Amazon over the use of the word "Appstore." Both Amazon and Microsoft argued that "app store" was a generic term, and the case was eventually thrown out.

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Apple Expected to Launch These 10+ Products Over the Coming Months

Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more. Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New MacBook Pros Could Now Arrive in March

Sunday February 8, 2026 6:02 am PST by
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...
m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...

Top Rated Comments

Michael Goff Avatar
160 months ago
2011 Apple Newsstand
2013 Google Newsstand

Shameless

Yeah!

Apple invented the newsstand. How could anyone copy something like that? It's not like the word meant anything before Apple used it.

:rolleyes:

----------

Oooh, this is definitely not going to go down well with Apple, risky business for Google unless they are just trying to start a lawsuit for the fun of it!!

Why would there be a lawsuit?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mw360 Avatar
160 months ago
Will it go in a folder?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
160 months ago
2011 Apple Newsstand
2013 Google Newsstand

Shameless

Apple copied Barnes & Noble then.

Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bill Killer Avatar
160 months ago
What a filthy, horrible company Google is. I hope they don't release it on iOS, we don't need that copied crap here. Call me a fan boy, but this is just blatant.

Fine. You're a fanboy.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Consultant Avatar
160 months ago
2011 Apple Newsstand
2013 Google Newsstand

Shameless
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bill Killer Avatar
160 months ago
Appstore wasn't a word before Apple. Newsstand was. Big difference.

This is simply incorrect. Just in the 2000's alone, Palm beat them.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)