Top 10 RSS and news reading apps for businessmen

Important news about RSS and news reading apps for businessmen

2024. Apple News now supports offline reading



Apple rolled out a new update for the iPad and iPhone, with the advent of iOS 17.5. One of the exciting additions is the Offline mode in Apple News+, which grants you access to the Today feed and News+ tab even when you’re offline. This means you can now download Top Stories, Apple News Today audio briefings, full magazine issues and narrated articles and puzzles and enjoy them at your leisure, without needing Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. When the device is back online, downloaded content will automatically refresh and downloads will be optimized to maximize space on the device. Apple News+ has not received any love for the past year, so it is nice to see an offline reading mode, which primarily focuses on news articles, both free and premium content that is locked beyond a paywall. Including magazines is also a boon, which can be read wherever an internet connection is difficult to find.


2023. News aggregator app SmartNews’ latest feature aims to tackle doomscrolling



In a galaxy not particularly far away, SmartNews, the ever-curious news aggregator, has embarked on a mission to gently untangle humanity from the clutches of "doomscrolling"—that curious habit of swiping endlessly through news that leaves one feeling like a custard-filled sponge. The app’s new feature, wryly dubbed SmartTake, is a distinctly cheerful tweak: a singular beacon of curated delight aimed squarely at lifting spirits, delivering editor's picks, informative bits and soothing images, all neatly bundled and designed to make doomscrolling seem about as appealing as a three-headed electric eel. Up to now, SmartNews has been the purveyor of compelling headlines delivered in insistent little push notifications that practically hop up and down, vying for attention—though always (somewhat admirably) shy of pure clickbait. Typically, users could rely on its top news section for the most dramatic, if sometimes dark, stories, replete with crime capers, political gaffes and all the rivetingly dubious statements public figures insist on saying.

2023. News app Artifact can now summarize stories using AI, including in fun styles



Artifact, the rather dazzling and occasionally bewildering news aggregator, has just introduced a shiny new feature so fantastically advanced it practically requires its own anthem. By employing the latest in AI wizardry, readers can now get bite-sized news article summaries with a simple tap, saving precious moments better spent pondering the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. And if that wasn’t enough, this clever contraption offers summaries in styles so eccentric you'd swear they were dreamed up by a hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional being—choose from "explain like I'm five" or an utterly baffling series of emojis. The way to summon this miracle? Just tap the "Aa" button hovering above a news article and select "Summarize." Oh, and naturally, all of this is powered by the ever-resourceful minds at OpenAI, who probably don't have an answer to 42 but sure know how to generate a summary.


2023. Samsung launches News app with custom feeds



Samsung has launched a new app called "Samsung News" that grants users access to daily news from a variety of publications. The app will replace Samsung's current "Samsung Free" app and features customized news feeds, as well as morning and evening briefings on the day's top news. Samsung News provides access to news content from numerous news outlets, including Axios, CNN, Fortune, Huffington Post, Newsweek, Reuters, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and others. You can browse news within the app via categorized feeds or a "Following" tab that you can customize according to your preferences. Additionally, Samsung News provides twice-daily briefings - compiled by a team of news editors - that aggregate the day's top headlines in one convenient location. The app also features an option to listen to podcasts.


2023. Flipboard launches its notes feature on iOS and Android



Flipboard has announced that it’s introducing its notes function to its iOS and Android apps, two months after debuting the feature on the web. The rollout positioned Flipboard as the newest competitor in the effort to shift some of the online dialogues happening on Twitter to its own platform instead. The notes function provides a simple method to share ideas or initiate discussions, according to the company. Flipboard’s curators can now release original content into their magazine to interact with their readers in a conversation. You can also use a note to greet new followers or share your reflections and ideas with them.


2022. Google News redesigned with a cleaner look, more customization options



Google, in a move that one might assume was motivated by a desire to simplify the chaos of modern information overload—or possibly just to keep itself entertained—has given its new service a shiny overhaul. The freshly polished Google News now sports a sleek, two-column design that keeps most of the navigational riff-raff neatly corralled at the top of the page. It’s an obvious improvement, though whether it’s designed to enhance user experience or placate the whims of an overly caffeinated algorithm remains unclear. Personalization and customization are the name of the game, with "top stories" and "picks for you" perched smugly at the top, like a particularly opinionated parrot. Scroll down, and you’ll find an obsessively organized list of your chosen topics, which can be rearranged at your whim via the "customize" button. Even local news—once the wallflower of the digital age—has been invited to the main menu, right up there with the big shots.


2021. Matter raises $7 million Series A to build a better news reading app



Matter, which seeks to create a superior reading app for today’s digital environment, is emerging from private beta testing and announcing the completion of its $7 million Series A. The app enters a market where technologies for saving articles to read later, such as Instapaper and Pocket, have struggled to keep pace with how people are now engaging with online content—through newsletters, personalized recommendations in other apps, or suggestions from peers on social media, for instance. Like other “read it later” apps, such as those provided by Pocket or Instapaper, Matter users can install a Chrome extension to curate their reading list within the app, or they can make recommendations directly within the mobile app. Users’ reading lists are private by default, but you can select which articles from the list you want to share publicly with the Matter community.


2021. News aggregator SmartNews raises $230 million



SmartNews, a news aggregation platform and application that has gained traction despite significant competition from built-in aggregators like Apple News, has secured $230 million in Series F funding. Established in 2012 in Japan, the company launched in the U.S. in 2014 and expanded its local news presence early last year. While the app's editorial team includes former journalists, machine learning algorithms are utilized to select which articles are displayed to readers to tailor their experience. One of the app's major unique features is its ability to break users' “filter bubbles” through its “News From All Sides” option, which enables users to access news from a variety of political viewpoints.


2021. Microsoft launches a personalized news service, Microsoft Start



Microsoft has launched its own personalized news reading platform called Microsoft Start, available as both a website and mobile app and also integrated with other Microsoft products, including Windows 10 and 11 and the Microsoft Edge web browser. The feed will aggregate content from news publishers, but in a manner that’s customized to users’ individual preferences, according to the company — a personalization system that could enhance Microsoft’s ability to compete with the news reading experiences provided by competitors such as Apple or Google, as well as popular third-party apps like Flipboard or SmartNews.


2020. Facebook News launches to all in US with addition of local news and video



Facebook News, the social network’s dedicated section focused on journalism, is today launching for all users in the US. The new feature employs journalists to curate Facebook News alongside algorithms to enhance story personalization. Users can react to and share articles, but cannot comment. Additionally, users have the option to hide articles, topics and publishers they wish to avoid, which may limit exposure to diverse perspectives. This product signifies Facebook’s much-discussed new initiative to attract publishers to its platform with the assurance of expanded distribution.