This article was updated and checked for accuracy in April 2024. It was initially published in 2014.
The internet has revolutionized the way we consume news, liberating us from the editorial influence of TV producers or newspaper editors. Today, we can search the vast web for news that aligns with our interests. Keeping track of them can be challenging on the many news websites available. In this list, we will explore the top news apps for Android, offering organization, staying informed, and finding news tailored to your preferences. Notably, we prioritize unbiased and crowd-sourced news sources over politically inclined networks like CNN or Fox News, ensuring factually accurate information. Here are the finest news apps for Android.
We’d also like to mention Google’s official app. The Discover feed keeps track of what you want and slowly caters to your sensibilities. It’s quick, easy, and accessible. You can also get a similar feed in Google Chrome’s mobile app.
The best news apps for Android
AP News
Price: Free with ads
AP News is a reasonably decent news app for Android. It sources its news from itself and hundreds of local and nationwide sources. The user interface is clean, and you can find news on various topics, including sports, entertainment, travel, technology, and more. It’s not the best for politics, but better than most. The app is entirely free of ads. The ads are a bit annoying, but it’s nothing too serious.
Feedly
Price: Free / Pro $7.99 per month / Pro+ $15.99 per month
Feedly is one of the most popular news apps out there. It’s an RSS reader. That means you can pull from a variety of sites and sources. The goal is to build your news network from places that you trust. It integrates with Facebook, IFTTT, Twitter, Evernote, OneNote, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and others. Additionally, you can access your feed on your mobile phone or your computer with their website. It’s a rock-solid option with over 40 million feeds in total. The only downside is the advertising. It’s a little heavy unless you pay the subscription price.
Flipboard is another one of the more popular news apps. It works a lot like Feedly. You can create a custom feed with your favorite news sources, sites, and other places. Flipboard differs from Feedly in that it is a little more flashy. It includes fun animations, large images, and a user interface that makes it look like a digital magazine. It also has additional features for things like discovery. It’s also completely free.
Umme Aimon Shabbir / Android Authority
The News Break app helps you access the latest and most relevant news stories. It offers a personalized newsfeed and delivers tailored updates on topics you care about. Its user-friendly interface makes browsing articles, videos, and local news easy, keeping you informed and connected. News Break also provides real-time notifications, ensuring you never miss breaking news. This comprehensive news app is your go-to source for staying up-to-date with the world’s events.
Microsoft Start
Price: Free
Microsoft News is a surprisingly decent news app for Android. It works like most, though. You open the app, select the topics you care about, and receive a feed with news curated by Microsoft employees. The service syncs between the app and the web automatically for cross-platform support. You also get a dark theme, the ability to save articles for later, and a good mixture of left and right-leaning political news sites. There is a lot of news here if you want to read it.
Price: Free / $4.99 per month / $44.99 per year
Joe Hindy / Android Authority
Pocket is one of the more unique news apps. It doesn’t offer content. However, it will save whatever content you stumble across during your day. You’ll no doubt find something on Twitter or Facebook or in a chat you can’t read right now. You can stuff that into a Pocket and then come back to read it later. It has offline support, a decent reading experience, and discovery features. Power users can sign up for a subscription. It offers unlimited storage, a tag system to help stay organized, text-to-speech article reading, and additional features for PC.
Podcast Addict
Price: Free
Podcast Addict is an excellent all-in-one solution for news apps. It is a combination of an RSS reader and a podcast app. It boasts a collection of 450,000 podcasts. Additionally, you can subscribe to almost any news source that you like. The app supports podcast playlists, categorically organized news feeds, Chromecast support, and YouTube and Twitch channels. Better podcast apps (Castbox, Pocket Casts, Doggcatcher, etc.) and better RSS apps (Feedly and Flipboard) exist. However, nothing does a combination of the two better than this one.
Price: Free / $5.99 per month / $49.99 per year
Reddit bills itself as the front page of the Internet. That’s at least mostly true. Most trending news items end up somewhere on Reddit. You can subscribe to subreddits that let you see various interests. You can find a subreddit for virtually anything from fashion to tech, Android to iOS, and everything in between. The official app is good enough at its job. It doesn’t have many power-user features. However, it nails the essential experience very well. Overall, it’s one of the better news apps and communities. The optional monthly subscription adds a few additional features and removes ads.
SmartNews is one of the newer news apps. It works like many competitors, like News Republic, News360, and other newsreaders. It looks at a ton of news sources and recommends top trending topics. The good part is that you get the news that everyone is talking about. The bad news is that it isn’t as configurable as we would like. Additionally, it leans on opinion blogs rather than news sites for many topics; we didn’t like that. It’s good for some stuff, bad for others. However, that’s about as good as it gets for news sites these days.
Your local news apps
Price: Free (usually)
Your local news apps are usually not half bad. They focus more on things happening around your community. Most people focus on the worldwide news and, in doing so, lose track of what’s happening in their cities. Generally, these apps are simple. They show the news and sometimes even the weather. On top of TV stations, many towns will also have local newspapers with apps. For instance, the Columbus Dispatch has its own app. Sometimes, these apps are great. Sometimes, they’re not.
Bonus: Android Authority app
Price: Free
Here comes a little shameless self-promotion! We do have an official app. It’s also a pretty nice app if we say so ourselves. It’s an excellent place to check out the latest tech news around the world of Android. That includes reviews, news, best lists, op-eds, and whatever else our team happens to cook up. The interface uses Material Design. In addition, it links to our podcast, our YouTube channel, and more. It’s free to use with no in-app purchases.
If we missed any of the best news apps for Android, tell us about them in the comments.
