(Image via https://twitter.com/sfchronicle)
(Image via https://twitter.com/sfchronicle)
Many people have had numerous questions over the state of the country pre and post-election, with some asking themselves what exactly does their America stand for, and others perhaps looking more positively into the future with a new President waiting in the wings.
With the rise of mobile phones in terms of their influence on society and, more specifically, the masses of news we have access to at the touch of a button, phone apps – alongside the likes of social media – have been keeping people in the loop and enabled them to formulate an opinion thanks to the detailed, up to date news they’re able to follow thanks to their miniature handheld devices. Phones perform a variety of functions, of course, with other apps and websites people visit, such as casino games that pay real money in Canada and popular retail apps like eBay. Still, news apps have gained larger audiences in recent times as they notify people with any big news, therefore helping them gain a further insight into a political landscape they perhaps tend to ignore usually. Thanks to the election and regardless of whether or not you’re happy with the result, America is engaged with politics again, and news apps have certainly played their part.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the popular news apps Americans have downloaded in 2020.
Apple News
For Apple and iPad users only, Apple News keeps people fully up to date with all things current affairs, as well as having the option to browse and search for news stories yourself. You can also set up some notifications on specific topics or news stories if you’re desperate to keep in the loop with all the latest breaking news. For $9.99 a month, some Americans prefer to get a more detailed look at the news, with Apple News offering its users access to an array of additional publications for the fee, as well as the option of listening to articles being narrated as audio stories.
Google News
Essentially Apple News for people with Android devices, Google News is also compatible on iPhone but it does tend to be more popular with Android users. The search engine on this app is particularly helpful, giving users the ability to search for news stories easily and – like many other news apps – tailor the news they want to see accordingly.
The Week
An IRL weekly magazine, The Week is another popular app in 2020 which is excellent at summarising the news thanks to its “10 things you need to know today” feature which is hugely helpful, alongside the opportunity to build your own lists, so you only see the news you want to see.
(Image via https://twitter.com/FlipboardCS)
Flipboard is slightly different to the other apps we’ve covered so far, mainly because it allows you to gather topic-based news instead of adding individual headlines into your feed. Flipboard was originally a magazine which is why the app has a community of users who share their own magazine issues which have been customised with the events and categories that they wish to hear about.
SmartNews
A favoured news app for many people in Japan, SmartNews uses its clever news aggregator to only feature the biggest and best stories from both Japan and the US. It has partnerships established with a variety of well-known news outlets, as well as having its very own election section and live coverage of the results as events unfolded. SmartNews has started to grow even more in 2020, that much is obvious.
*****
From time to time, GraniteGrok accepts content from third parties (posts, or additional links after initial publication) from which we may or may not receive compensation.
