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Google News vs. Apple News on iOS

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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.


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.

Article Link: Google News vs. Apple News on iOS
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/18/google-news-vs-apple-news/
fairuz

fairuz

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Aug 27, 2017
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Markoth said:
I'm not a fan of news in general since so much of it is biased fact-distorting nonsense, from almost any source. I suppose Google News isn't a bad way to indoctrinate oneself, though.
Click to expand...
But this is a news site
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sniffies said:
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
Click to expand...
I agree, at least for Apple News. Tired of having to scroll past stuff I've already seen, and so little appears that I quickly run out of new stuff. Otherwise, it's a great app.
 
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flowsy

flowsy

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Aug 16, 2009
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In Germany we only get 4 headlines and only as a widget. And if you uninstall the News-App from your iPhone you won't get it back until you restore. It's not available in the German AppStore. Sad.
 
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chugg

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Oct 14, 2008
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Apple News looks better since it actually looks like it was designed for iOS as opposed to whatever the hell Google's done with their bastardized iOS design. Like why does the bottom nav bar need to look different from every other iOS app on earth or why does the share sheet need to pull in all my google contacts to add a THIRD row?

In any case, since Apple can't figure out how to release a 2 year old News app to more than 3 countries, Google News wins by default.
 
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TRICKorDEVICE

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Sep 20, 2014
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Hi all,

TLDR; if I delete the News app will there be any negative effects, will I lose all of the learning I've put into it by liking, disliking things?

I generally like to keep the phone as clean as possible, with very little duplication. I recently tried Google News. I've been using the News app since it's release and I have to say, right out of the box Google News is a better fit for me. Apple News looks good and works fine, but Google News, looks just as good to me and seems to work much better on recommendations, Widget, etc.

No offense to anyone, just my opinion.

If I were to delete the News app would it negatively effect anything else? Will I lose all of the recommendation data I've put into it as far as likes, areas of interest, etc. (not that they seem to work so great anyway, but...)?


Thanks
 
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Nicktmro

Nicktmro

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Charles50

Charles50

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Feb 2, 2013
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I installed the Google news app on my iPad. It recognized my Google account (which means I am consenting to give up my data to google grr) and had my previous news topic preferences available. But they were on a second screen, scroll way down and then go three clicks deep. On the web interface, they were links on the top of the screen to take me to my personal topics, which were just below top news.
But this annoyance was nothing, compared to autoplaying videos. I uninstalled the app.
 
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WannaGoMac

WannaGoMac

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groovyd

groovyd

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Still waiting for Apple News for macOs app and a web-based one as well at news.apple.com. Someday, right? Probably as soon as they port Home to macOs and home.apple.com ;)
 
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KazKam

KazKam

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Oct 25, 2011
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rizzo41999 said:
All I want is a simple feed that tells me what happened today. I’m not one to “cherry pick” news channels. Just tell me what happened.
Click to expand...

That would be nice, idealistically, but it can't happen. What happened today as told by which fly on the wall and with what agenda? A "factual"/objective/unbiased feed of things that happened today does not exist. Add to that a large dash of human interest pap and advertising and there's definitely no way to sort the wheat from the chaff.
 
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campyguy

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Mar 21, 2014
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I'm still preferring Feedly. Using their app on iOS and an epichrome SSB, several paid subscriptions feeding into my Feedly feed (say that 5 times fast...).

Apple News is pretty but still neutered for my needs, Google News is OK but I use a dummy Gmail account that I use with nothing else - to much work covering my tail end...
 
J

jarman92

macrumors 65816
Nov 13, 2014
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I really love Apple News, but I wish they would copy Google’s “Full Coverage” feature; it’s a really great idea. Unfortunately Apple has a nasty habit of letting their software rot for years, so I don’t expect many—if any—new features in any app anytime soon.
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Sven11 said:
Neither. Both rank news stories according to their liking giving people a twisted news perception.
Click to expand...

So does every app and service. If you actually want to read articles from other sources you can simply like them in the feed. But you probably won’t because as you said, people don’t like that.
 
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DrumApple

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Jan 30, 2009
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If it's going to load webpage format-like UI, why not just view in Safari? I'll stick to Apple News.
 
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