Best News Apps: How To Develop One for You?

If you are a person who prefers staying up-to-date about current affairs, you must be fond of news reading. However, when you are a working person who has to wake up and spend the whole day in the office, it becomes difficult to dedicate time reading a newspaper, watching television, or listening to the radio. Things like reading news or knowing about happenings and mishappenings are preferred while standing in the queue at the grocery store, sitting in the metro, or waiting for the bus. But you can not always carry a newspaper, television, or radio with you all the time, and neither is it a good idea. 

So, the news apps available on the app store and play store bring all these devices to your pocket and provide access to worldwide news anytime, anywhere. A traditional media platform will come with random information that you might or might not prefer to know. But the news apps ensure you receive only the news that interests you. It not only saves the little time you have to go through news but also encourages your interest in the information. 

Top Ten News Apps in 2022 

In an immense sea of journalism apps, it is important to surf through the right news app to get the correct information. To make sure you are receiving the news from a reliable source, we are enlisting some of the best news apps you can rely on to stay up-to-date:

1. Google News 

Just like any other domain, Google is leading the journalism industry as well. The firm stepped into the digital journalism industry in 2006 by introducing Google News. The app sets the news filter according to your preferences and carries out the news from reliable news websites. The news app of Google can be installed on both Android and iOS platforms. 

Highlights 

• Provide news insight in more than 35 languages 
• Sourcing from the reliable news sites only
• Alerts to subscribers whenever articles matching their requests are published 

2. Apple News 

Apple News is one of the best news platforms for iOS users. The applications are already installed on all iOS devices. However, the app is not available for Android or other OS users. The main partner of the app to source the news is The New York Times and National Geographic. The app lets you set your preferences in different beats such as politics, sports, business, entertainment, education, science, technology, etc. 

Highlights 

• News from hundreds of leading newspapers and magazines 
• Local news experience from premium sources
• Reading online as well as offline
• Personalization  

3. Microsoft Start

Available for both Android and iOS users, Microsoft Start is one of the best and quick ways to get the news. The app provides the news stories via different sections such as top stories, international events, regional events, money, politics, opinion, crime, and many more. The platform sources the content from other reliable and well-known media sites. 

Highlights 

• 1000+ media channels and sources 
• News stories on a range of topics 
• Personalized notifications 

4. AP News

Associated Press is one of the world’s biggest and oldest news agencies. The firm offers global insight to its users via the app as well. Associated Press reporters and journalists are located worldwide and send them the essential insights into respective areas. The top stories screen of the app will offer you an insight into the day that you should be aware of. 

Highlights 

• Own sources of news 
• Local, regional, national, and international news
• Customized news alerts

5. Flipboard

With more than 500 million downloads on the Play Store alone, Flipboard is one of the most trendy news and journalism apps. Flipboard provides the news insight in a creative way making it more interesting to the readers. The visuals and design used for the app help it stand out from the crowd. The news is presented to users through articles, videos, and slideshows. 

Highlights

• Creative writing style
• Visuals and designs 
• Connectivity with other social media apps

6. BBC News App

The BBC is one of the world’s biggest news and media organizations. The BBC World News is available in more than 200 countries around the globe. The BBC News App keeps users up-to-date about everyday happenings around the world. The “My News” feature helps the users manage what they want to see and read. 

Highlights 

• Most prominent news and media network
• Live streaming news channels 
• Breaking news via notifications 

7. CNN News

The news app of CNN receives more than 40% of its total online traffic as it is very accessible and easy to use. The primary site of CNN is written majorly for the US audience; however, the users can get worldwide insight via the app. The app has more than 500 million android users. The app is available for Android as well as iOS users. 

Highlights 

• In-depth reporting and expert commentary
• CNN Live audio
• Custom alerts for news updates 
• Read or save articles of choice 

8. Reuters

Reuters is a popular news agency established in 1851 in London. Currently, the firm has 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in more than 200 locations around the world. The firm has established its own sources of news and information. The app offers global news coverage on your palm through the app. It is more than a news app as it offers your personal market watchlist, plus stocks, bonds, currencies, and commodities analysis. 

Highlights 

• Very own news network 
• Night mode, editorial highlights, offline access
• Alerts for breaking news 
• Global news coverage 

9. Financial Times 

If you are looking for a platform to get business and financial insights such as stock market conditions, the performance of big companies, new investments, latest businesses, and other similar content, Financial Times can be the best choice for you. The app allows you to follow particular headings and topics to receive notifications about relevant news. 

Highlights

• Follow the interesting topics on myFT
• Customized morning edition
• Monitor market data portfolio
• Share and receive opinions on articles 

10. Feedly

If you rely on specific sources for news and insights, Feedly can be your choice. The app gathers a range of news, stories, and content from different sources about different topics and lets you read the article from your trusted source. It is among the best news apps that use the RSS feeds. Currently, Feedly is a well-established and popular player in the media and journalism domain. 

Highlights

• Handy integration with Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, IFTTT, Evernote, OneNote, etc. 
• Machine learning for personalization of content 
• Connection to 40 million sources on more than 2,000 topics

Must Have Features In A News App

• User Registration & Login via email
• Underline the important information
• Browning through the range of news categories
• Integration with other apps to share news
• Saving and reading the news offline
• Notification according to preferences of users
• Comments and like option on news 
• Searching content with date, time, topic
• Poll & Rating
• Listing to the audio format
• Live streaming of breaking news
• Offline access to the news  

Market Statistics of A News App

• The users of mobile news apps spend an average of 31 minutes daily while surfing the news on the application. 

• Google play carries more than 77,000 news & magazine apps. 

• The digital magazines and newspaper segment is estimated to achieve a revenue of $39.01 Billion.

• The digital newspaper and magazines segment is expected to attract a user base of 1882.6 million by the year 2026,

Working Principle of News Apps: How Do They Operate?

The working principle of news apps is pretty simple and straight. There are a number of sources for the revenue in each app, differing on the basis of the target audience. Most news apps source their journalistic content from other popular sources such as regional, national, and international newspapers and TV channels. However, other media organizations rely on news agencies for the same. There are some other firms and organizations as well which have their own reporters providing insight from the nearby locations and regions. 

The news app then feeds all this information on their platform and provides access to the content, either free or by charging a fee. 

Monetization Model of News Apps

All the news apps don’t rely on the same source of earning. There are multiple sources from where the revenue in a news app is generated. Some of them are as below: 

1. Subscription

Subscription-based business models are very popular among news apps. This model is mainly used by newspaper companies that have their own app. Just like the subscription of physical newspapers, these firms also provide the subscription of their news app to allow the users to get access to their content. The subscription fee is one of the primary revenue baselines for most apps. 

2. In-App Purchase or Access 

There are news apps that provide free access to limited content to their users. However, to read the premium, personalized or in-depth information, the users need to make in-app purchases. The in-app purchases are often named the premium version, pro version, etc. It is a good source of revenue for many apps. 

3. Advertisement 

Advertising also has a significant role in generating revenue for a handful of news apps. The big and popular news apps with good monthly active users manage to receive a good income through advertising. The advertising agencies and individual businesses pay a good amount for space on the app’s user interface. 

4. Selling Data by Anonymizing It 

Some news apps with a good amount of users on the platform even sell the data to other platforms and firms for marketing and advertising purposes. However, it is made sure that the personal information such as name, address, etc., are not being shared as it is. Instead, this kind of information is anonymized with some codes or numbers. Selling the data is a good income source. However, in this business model, services are often accessible to the users. 

5. Exchanging the Traffic 

Exchanging the traffic with other apps and platforms by providing the backlinks to their content also helps the news app secure a decent income for themselves. 

Tech Stack For Developing News App

Tech stack is the complete IT framework that operates the overall app. Following is the tech stack for a news app: 

How to Build a News App?

1. Brainstorm the Idea 

Every business demands brainstorming, and so does developing a news app. First of all, you need to brainstorm the idea of creating the app, your vision for the app development, what you want to achieve through the app, what business model you are going to implement, and such other things to prepare a pathway to your business. 

2. Market Research 

You should know well about the pool before you dive in. Conduct in-depth research about the news app market. Know about the already well-established news apps, their revenue, their user base, the services they offer, the business model they utilize, competitive rivalry, and other relevant factors to make the right decision. 

3. Contacting a Team 

In order to get your app developed, you are going to need an app development team composed of a product owner, project manager, business analyst, UI/UX designer, mobile app developers, quality assessor, etc. You can communicate your idea and requirements to the app development team to get everything done. 

4. Verifying the Prototype 

Your product development team will provide you with the prototype of the app. This prototype will give you an idea about the visuals of your app and its basic functionality. Make sure that the prototype has been prepared as per your requirements. Instill the necessary changes at this stage to avoid cost and time overflow in the future. 

5. Design UI

Explicitly talking about news apps, the user interface is going to be your differentiating factor. Make sure the user interface of your app can make a difference in your platform to that of other similar apps on the play store or app store. Also, ensure ease of use while designing the user interface. 

6. Implementing the Tech Stack 

The tech stack interpreted a few headings above is efficient for any news app. Make sure to use the right tech stack, as performance is going to depend mainly on the tech stack of the app.

7. Coding 

Instill the correct coding for the efficient and smooth working of the app. Look for the bugs and errors and ensure to remove them. The more time you spend coding and testing, the better will be the efficiency and user experience. 

8. Release 

Once the app has been developed, release it on the respective platform. Provide timely updates, remove the bug, ensure the continuity services, and make the improvements timely. 

How Much It Costs to Build a News App?

Depending on the features you wish to provide for your mobile app, the app development cost will differ significantly. The features take time to be instilled in the app as it requires comparatively more coding and thus more time from the developers. The time for the app development is directly proportional to the cost of app development. Therefore, giving a price tag for news app development will not be suitable. 

However, to get a rough idea, it can be estimated that a mobile news app with basic features with a single platform will cost around $25000-$35000, while the app with more advanced features and two platforms will cost about $50000-$60000. 

How Can We Help You?

Emizentech is one of the leading app development firms in multiple markets. We provide you with the best app development team that assists you from brainstorming ideas to post-release maintenance of the app. You can contact our business analyst team to discuss your vision and planning regarding the app to get the right advice and thus make the right decision. 

Wrapping Up

News apps have changed the way people consume news and information. Such apps have made the news available everywhere and every time. There is a galaxy of news apps on different platforms. Some of the best news apps you can rely on have been listed in the blog. The news app allows you to read, save and share the information. 

Step into this growing landscape. If you are already established in journalism, the app can catalyze your growth and presence in this industry. In case you want to enter the media industry, starting with an app can be a good medium as the media industry is going digital.