Best news aggregator apps for Android and iOS users on the go

There are numerous apps and services that let you add your favorite blogs and keep up with their feeds, but what about apps that help you discover latest and exciting news, things you wouldn’t have found on your own?  With the emerging news sources and the growing information overload, it is necessary to know which ones are worth your time and are best suited towards your way of consuming information. Therefore, we’ve rounded up what we think are the ones to consider. Check the list below:

Flipboard:

The incredibly stylish magazine Flipboard created a new type of reading experience on mobile; one focused on engaging the reader with the most exciting stories of the day. Hundreds of publications are now available on the news reader, and Flipboard offers a generous amount of topicsFlipboard makes the entire reading process as stylish as possible and integrates all your social media accounts like Twitter and Instagram.

Geared more for leisurely reading rather than frenetic updates on the go, Flipboard has been the ‘go to’ app, especially for tablets and big screen phablet phones. Most importantly, Flipboard collects news and opinion pieces from all over the world but also features a unique ‘Daily Edition’ that rounds up India specific updates.

News 360:

News 360 comes with a unique feature of two swipeable screens. The top part shows you the most popular stories while the bottom shows you the article you’re reading. News 360 learns from your navigation patterns, recommending features based on your areas of interest. The app allows you to save features and news items for offline reading; perfect if you need to catch up on your favorite updates on a flight or during an underground metro commute.

Feedly:

This simple, yet fast and efficient news aggregator is perfect to keep track of almost any news source or blog. The app’s search bar manages to trawl almost anything you’re looking for and allows you to make fun discoveries along the way. 

Instead of giving you a massive list for you to scroll down, Feedly breaks your content feed up into manageable chunks. You can select multiple publications from Feedly’s search board, sort them into topics, and save articles for later viewing with bookmarks. Also, the social media integration allows you to share your favorite stories across platforms effortlessly.

Pocket:

Pocket’s biggest strength is its ability to ‘pocket’ news items and web pages that you can save for reading later. It’s not just news sources within the app, but Pocket’s ability to pick pages from sources as diverse as Google Chrome or Social media feeds. 

Aside from ‘grabbing’ pages from other sources, Pocket creates a list of ‘recommended’ articles that you can read online or save for offline reading later. Pocket recently launched a recommended feature, too, which lets you check what friends and other users have saved.

InShorts:

Where Flipboard works more for long format features, this is the quintessential on-the-go app for those with busy schedules and short attention spans. InShorts grabs news from Indian and global sources and packages it in crisp, bite-sized portions (typically 60 words) with a single visual to give you a quick overview of what’s happening around you. You can deep dive into any of the ‘shorts’ by clicking through to the news source.

Google News and Weather:

Along with giving news updates, Google’s News App also keeps tab of local weather. The weather app brings useful bits of information from weather.com, along with the clean, uncluttered user interface of the news section. You can add locations (that automatically combine weather and local news) and additional topics effortlessly.

Yahoo News Digest:

Yahoo’s $30 million acquisition of Summly was all about redesigning News Digest, and the finished product is wonderful. It offers 10 of the top stories in your region, capitalizing on Summly’s artificial intelligence technology as it does to present the information in a tidy package. The news changes every few hours, too, giving you important updates throughout the day.

News Republic:

News Republic offers a collection of articles based on trends and personal preferences, letting you see what everyone else is reading and what you’re interested in. For users with limited time, the service also offers a digest, so you can casually check the headlines without having to delve into the full article.

BBC News:

The BBC is a worldwide news organization dedicated to keeping you up to date on the latest topics and news stories. This app also gives you access to a live-streaming news channel that’s baked directly into its app.

UC News:

This app brings together news content from over 20 featured channels, including news, cricket, technology, entertainment, movies, lifestyle, health and more. It is an easy-to-use app with a unique and highly user-friendly interface. It tracks and matches trending keywords on social media (Facebook and Twitter) and decides on the trending topics before recommending them to users. Also, it allows users to customize content subscription based on their preference and interest.

Apple News:

Apple News comes pre-loaded on every iOS device. The News app places a significant focus on images and quick loading videos, and publications such as The New York Times and National Geographic have partnered with the company to make their content readily available.

Smart News:

This app automatically serves up the top news stories from all over the web on a variety of topics, including entertainment, sports, lifestyle, world and currently, Election 2016, all accessible in colorful tabs at the top of the screen. It’s clutter-free, easy to browse through, and good at digging up fresh content that you’ll want to read. Firstly, it’s the visually pleasing interface. 

Secondly, it’s the neatly organized sections – tabbed on top of the screen in multiple colors, that makes this an excellent news reader. You can add more tabs – regions/cities or publications to the home screen. You can click through to view most news items either on the source website or stay within the app with a ‘smart’ view option that is similar to a reader.

Conclusion

So, whether you’re a die-hard news junkie or merely a casual purveyor of the world affairs, these are the top picks for the best news apps. Try them out!

About the author

Meenakshi Rawat

Having worked on Entertainment, Technology, and Business for four years, Meenakshi finds solace in technology, and more so in covering it. She loves to read novels, listen to music, and roam around places. You can reach Meenakshi at meenakshi@pc-tablet.com.