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Google News vs. Apple News on iOS

Friday May 18, 2018 3:09 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Google recently introduced a new Google News app with an entirely updated interface and a range of new features that put it on par with Apple's own News app, including a "For You" recommendation section and "Full Coverage" headlines that present a story from multiple angles.

We went hands-on with Google News to check out the new features and to see how it compares to Apple News, the built-in news app that's available on the iPhone and the iPad.

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The Google News app is a reimagining and revamp to the existing Google Newsstand Play app that was previously available via the iOS App Store. It's been entirely overhauled though, with a simple, clean interface that's fairly similar to the look of Apple News with a dedicated navigation bar at the bottom.

Google News does, however, have an additional section for quickly selecting news categories like U.S., World, Business, and Technology.

Both apps feature a "For You" section based on personalized recommendations. Apple's draws in information from the categories and news sites you choose to follow, while Google presents a selection of stories that become more tailored over time based on what you choose to read and what you favorite.

In each app, you can search for different news sites, blogs, and topics and add them to your coverage lists to impact "For You." Google's For You section highlights a list of five top stories and then provides supplemental stories at the bottom of the list, while Apple organizes For You into top stories, trending stories, top videos, and then recommendations based on channels and topics.

Apple News features a "Spotlight" section that features curated news selected by Apple News Editors, which highlights interesting news topics that you might not have otherwise seen.

Google News doesn't have a similar feature, but it has its own unique offering in the form of the "Headlines" section that aggregates the top news stories at the current time. In the headlines section, major stories have a "Full Coverage" option that lets you see the same story from multiple news sites so all of the angles are covered.

Google also has a dedicated "Newsstand" tab that lets you subscribe to paid and free news sources and a range of magazines using payment information stored in your Google Play account. Apple doesn't have a similar feature right now, but such an option is said to be in the works following its acquisition of magazine subscription service Texture.

Have you checked out Google News? Do you prefer it over Apple's own news app? Let us know in the comments.

Tags: Google, Apple News

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

dwd3885

10 months ago

So far I have found that Google News is much better at giving me news that I'm actually interested in vs Apple News.

Rating: 19 Votes

robertcoogan

10 months ago

I really don't like either. I miss the old RSS feed that was in Safari.

Rating: 19 Votes

Goldfrapp

10 months ago

I wish both supported:

- mark as read
- mark as read on scroll
- unread count
- show only unread items
- show all items from all sources, not just recommended ones

Rating: 17 Votes