With so many different news sources, let alone things happening in the world, getting the news you personally want can be a lot of work. Fortunately, thanks to apps, we got an additional set of options for how we want to consume news. For me personally, apps have definitely become the most effective way to optimize your news feed, but with so many, it again takes some work to find the right one. Which is somewhat ironical if you think about it.
I care a lot about getting the right news and as a avid app user, I spent a lot of time finding the right apps and customizing it to fit what I’m looking for. I tested out quite a lot of them and a couple of them I’ve been using for some time.
So here are my top apps for getting the latest news and more importantly, apps that allow you to organize and filter, so you get exactly what you want to read.
SmartNews – A Little Bit of Everything
This is quite a popular app when it comes to news feed. It basically gathers up plenty of news sources and allows you to customize so you only get what you want. But, what I really like about it is that you have the other option as well. You have your customized tab, but you can also simply explore in case you want a different view on the same topic. This way, you feel you have the freedom to get the correct picture on an important matter. For example, with a single swipe, you can read an article on the same topic from CNN and Fox News without separately browsing both websites. Finally, you can also save and read articles offline, which comes in handy. Overall, it’s a great go-to app as it has pretty much everything you need.
Still, although the app is well-thought, I believe they could do a better job on filtering low-quality news. Now, what each one of us thinks is low-quality is likely biased, but with a couple of tweaks, the app could definitely be even better and really stand out. I know they can’t control what a certain journalist might write, but let me put it like this. The app has an extremely solid foundation and the only thing they have to do is work upon it.
News Republic – Great Customization Options
What’s great about News Republic is they cover all kinds of news. From important political stuff to the latest sports scores and weather reports. I really had a hard time finding a topic that isn’t covered as anyone can customize the app depending on what they like. You can mix it up so you get the latest political and entertainment news or you can filter out everything but gossips if you want. So the power you have is definitely one of the reasons I like this app. Also, there are so many different sources that I have no idea how they are able to group everything and categorize across so many boards.
Still, having so much diversity does come with a couple of bugs. And some of them tend to be actually funny from time to time. For example, sometimes I’d an article that’s 3 years old and sometimes I’d get some really weird stuff like an article about the latest Marvel movie with the picture of a dinosaur as the cover image. Just to let you know, it’s really rare, but yeah, weird stuff does happen. Still, if it makes you laugh, I guess it’s a good thing.
Headlines – Fast & Effective
This one might be the most “boring” one out of the three, but don’t get me wrong. It does have some unique features some of you will probably find useful. The reason I say it’s “boring” is because it’s extremely straight-forward. The app is designed so for you to start it up, make a few clicks and you can start reading. I personally like to just “window-shop” whatever happens to be trending that day, and for that, I enjoy the first two more. But this one is fantastic for people who just want to get quality news as quickly as possible. So if you’re a busy person and constantly in a hurry, I can definitely suggest this one.
What they could do better is create a better filtering system as clicking on a headline sometimes can feel like you’re making a bet. Sometimes it takes you straight to the news source and sometimes you first click the headline in the app, then on a first site and then finally, after clicking yet again on the third site you can finally read. If you still feel like it, that is. As always, it doesn’t happen often, but it does from time to time.
Conclusion
There you go. These are my 3 choices and I hope you’ll find useful at least one of them. In case you want more news apps, I did find a website that lists the top news apps while doing my research for the article.
Best Apps For Reading The Latest News
Although I do think you’ll find what you’re looking for in the apps I reviewed, it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of extra choices on the table, especially when it comes to news. In case you find some app you think works better, I’d be thrilled if you let me know so I can check them out. Also, feel free to provide feedback on my top 3 and tell me what you think.