SAN FRANCISCO - Craig Federighi and News App Apple has cast out Newsstand in favor a new app called simply "News" for iOS 9, which is scheduled for a fall release. News offers a Flipboard-like interface for browsing news, but Apple also announced the "Apple News Format" for publishers to deliver their content to the app with "rich typography," images, and "beautiful layouts."
Apple Senior VP Craig Federighi and News App
Apple used the word "rich" or "richer" four times in its press release, and numerous times during the WWDC keynote presentation where the app was introduced. Those mentions include: "visually rich layout of a magazine," "rich interaction," "rich, immersive design," and "richer, more personal experience."
Apple will deliver these riches through the Apple News Format, which allows publishers to customize their content—with ads—for the app. Features include the above-mentioned typography, in-line images, swipable photo galleries, a masthead, and more.
According to Re/code, Apple is allowing publishers to keep 100 percent of all advertising revenue they sell. Apple will also help sell any unsold ad space—most likely through iAd—at rates characterized as "favorable" by a publisher who spoke to Re/code. Apple will continue to take a 30 percent cut from any subscriptions sold through its app.
Sample News Article
The late Steve Jobs felt like the publishing industry needed to be saved (it did and does, Buzzfeed notwithstanding), and that the iPad could play a big role in doing so. Dedicated newspaper and magazine apps were the first efforts in doing so, followed by Apple's Newsstand app. Neither were successful, though, and Apple appears to have looked at what was working for Flipboard and similar news aggregators and turned it up a notch for the News app.
Apple has lined up several major publishers, including Condé Nast, ESPN, The New York Times, Hearst, Time Inc., CNN and Bloomberg. Other publishers looking to get on board can go to a sign up page Apple has launched.
Lastly, Apple continued its newly emphasized promotion of privacy in the News announcement. During the WWDC keynote and in its press release, the company stipulated that it won't be sharing your personal data from the app, unlike all of the other services out there.
"News seamlessly delivers the articles you want to read in a beautiful and uncluttered format, while respecting your privacy, because Apple doesn't share your personal data," Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said in a statement.