Zite Shutting Down December 7, Recommends Flipboard to Users

News aggregator app Zite last night announced that it will no longer be functional past December 7, with the company encouraging fans to migrate their information and preferences over to similar app Flipboard before the deadline (via VentureBeat).

Flipboard acquired Zite in 2014 after a competitive few years together in the social media and news aggregation app sphere, keeping it open but slowly appropriating Zite's features and services into Flipboard. Zite has been hinting at its impending closure for a few months, but kept silent on whether or not it would continue to run in the face of the Flipboard acquisition until now.

zite flipboard apps

"We wanted to ensure that Zite’s key functionality was available in Flipboard before asking users to migrate. Now that we’ve integrated all the major parts of the technology such as the topic engine, collaborative filtering algorithms and thumbs up and down voting, Zite will soon stop being available as its own app. Zite users have a few more weeks to import their preferences into Flipboard. We hope many of them will do this.”

Zite users will recieve a notification within the app, or a personalized email, of the impending closure, along with a step-by-step guide of how to migrate their data to Flipboard. All the app requires is the entry of Flipboard login information into Zite -- a Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ login will work as well -- to begin the migration process.

Similar to the newly launched Apple News, Flipboard provides customers a one-stop shop of all their prioritized daily news services. Flipboard [Direct Link] allows a bit more personalization, however, letting users construct digital magazines of favorite stories, pictures, and breaking news and share them on social media. The app was recently updated to bring full support of the larger screen on the iPad Pro, as well.

Tags: Flipboard, Zite

Top Rated Comments

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rdinterman

38 months ago

Bummer, I love using Zite, and the Flipboard UI and news algorithm is not nearly as good as Zite. Neither is Apple News.

Rating: 6 Votes

gsmornot

38 months ago

I started with Flipboard then later found Zite. Zite was my main reader until Flipboard bought the service. Went back to Flipboard and now to Apple News. It takes work, a lot of work, to get Apple News to feed the type of data I want but now after a few months I'm good. I don't remember the other services taking as much effort.

Anyhow, we knew this was coming when they were bought. It was just a matter of time.

Now, could those who can be objective (the segment that doesn't worship at the alter of Apple) who use or regularly use both Flipboard and Apple News offer some "which is best" input?

I covered this a little in my general reply but you asked just about the same time I posted so I thought I would add a little more. I liked Zite a lot but its gone. Flipboard is not bad and neither is Apple News. They are different though. Generally I think Flipboard is a better service than Apple News but I have been using AN (Apple News) more since its built in to the OS and its one less extra app. I like the layout of Flipboard since they try really hard to simulate a magazine. The articles are fit into a few different repeating shapes and you flip through it like you would a magazine. AN on the other hand is based on horizontal lines on a continuous scrolling page. AN is row after row of links to stories that once open might be formatted nicely but all have a similar look on the main page.

Looks aside, AN will give you something equal to what you put into the process of finding and adding news sources, Flipboard the same. Both take time to develop and shape and remove sources you don't like. Zite felt like it did that more on my behalf. I didn't have to know or force myself to know what I wanted to read, it just gave me interesting things to read about. AN and Flipboard feel more like a service that simply looks at sources you select and feeds you everything that has been updated on those sites. Hard to explain. Zite felt like discovery of stores where AN and Flipboard feel like simple feeds. Either will be about the same, it all comes down to what style you want to view the news in. I have chosen AN simply because its built in and no worse to me than Flipboard. Not saying either is bad, just different. Hope that all makes sense.

Rating: 5 Votes

MovingWater

38 months ago

Really really sad to see Zite go. Agree with BrentT: "Flipboard is a classic example of style over substance." I have tried Flipboard multiple times and it's just awful. Flipboard should kill Flipboard and develop Zite instead, a vastly superior product. Wish there was another quality competitor than Flipboard and Apple News.

Rating: 4 Votes

Fuchal

38 months ago

News 360 > Flipboard

Rating: 4 Votes

BrentT

38 months ago

Flipboard is inferior to Zite. Flipboard is a classic example of style over substance. It is harder to use but looks cooler doing it.

Rating: 4 Votes

Dlanod

38 months ago

Zite is (soon to be "was") GREAT!!! I'm sad to see this. In my iPad dock where only 6 (favorite) app icons can be stored, Zite got one of those spots. I've tried Flipboard many times but always felt Zite did it better. Sad to see it go.

Now, could those who can be objective (the segment that doesn't worship at the alter of Apple) who use or regularly use both Flipboard and Apple News offer some "which is best" input? I know how the "Apple is always right" crowd will feel but I'm interested in the views of those who can actually "think different:" which one is the best replacement for Zite for Zite-like functionality & usefulness? If neither, what is the new king of this particular hill? Much thanks to anyone (especially anyone objective) who chimes in with some helpful views.

I use Feedly - I have tried to like Flipboard but I don't get the curated piece. With Zite all I did was say what I liked and Zite delivered content. Flipboard is just not as clever. And much more annoying with all the flipping flipping.........

Rating: 3 Votes

Moi Ici

38 months ago

I really like this app. It has been neglected of late, but there was something "not in your face" about it. I shall miss it.

Rating: 2 Votes

antiprotest

38 months ago

I want to swipe and scroll. I don't want to flip.

Rating: 2 Votes

yocko

38 months ago

Oh man. What did we Zite users had to endure? First that horrendous take over by CNN and then even worse Flipboard.
Such a horrid app. Apple news is ok-ish but nowhere near Zite.
Why the **** can't keep flipboard keep his hands off Zite. What's the point of destroying such a beloved app? Why can't they just rape and pilger the algorithms and leave it exist. There are so many faithful users out there. Why does it need to be destroyed. If they expect to wake up in the morning of the eighth and see many more users on flipboard I fear they will have a nasty surprise.
Zite was by far the most used app on my iPhone. I will miss it like mad. Die in hell, flipboard.

Rating: 2 Votes