“My belief is that Apple News, Newsstand, and iBooks should effectively be merged into a single Reading app with the best characteristics of all three of Apple’s initiatives,” Jeremy Horwitz writes for 9to5Mac. “Most of the pieces have already developed — it’s just a question of unifying a bunch of seemingly different types of reading materials within a single place. Just like TV shows, movies, music videos and home videos all live within a single iOS app called Videos, think of Reading as an app-based version of a Barnes & Noble bookstore.”
“It goes without saying that all of this would require high-level Apple approval to implement. But it’s also heavily in Apple’s interest to do so. As it currently stands, Apple News doesn’t have much more than the Apple name and the prospect of maybe-possibly future publisher support to set it apart from the many newsreaders that have come and gone over the years. I’ve had it on my iPad and iPhone for weeks, and it’s already gathering dust,” Horwitz writes. “An Apple Reading app, however, could become the core linking books, magazines, newspapers and web content together. It would be a major reason to acquire a big library of content through Apple, and a major impediment to using other devices to consume that content in the future.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: There are some interesting ideas in the full article.
But, after Newsstand, it’s very difficult to gauge how serious Apple is about Apple News.
SEE ALSO:
Apple News is fast, responsive, enjoyable, and it might become your only news app – July 15, 2015
Apple News shows that Apple wants to bolster and profit from ads, not eliminate them – July 10, 2015
Apple News to have human curation – and that raises issues – June 15, 2015
How Apple’s mobile ad-blocker could backfire on the company and iPhone, iPad users – June 12, 2015
Hats off to Web advertising – no, really – July 6, 2015
Apple’s support of mobile ad blocking may upend how the web works – June 12, 2015
Doesn’t Apple News come with iOS 9? So, will we see an iOS 9 review from them saying “Apple’s latest iOS is in big trouble?”
I mean, it’s buggy, lots of incomplete content and features! Apple hasn’t even introduced the Apple News format, yet.
So Apple correctly stopped the idiots from reviewing apps on iOS 9.
It’s beta software, Horwitz. You sound like an idiot. 😉
Merging Apple News, Newsstand, and iBooks into a single app sounds a recipe for the iTunes of reading apps. I don’t think I’d like that very much.
Ditto.
I don’t put newspapers, flyers, nor mailed documents on my real bookshelves.
I am fairly happy with iBooks. I have a lot of digital books, which I use use for reference, education, and pleasure reading. The last thing I want is to clutter it with all kinds of junk.
I use Evernote as depository for all other loose stuff such as notes, graphics, and PDFs. I use Clipboard for general news and articles that interest me. Ah! And I use Macdaily News for my Apple fix. I am happy with that arrangement
So yeah, I’ll checkout Apple News. If I like it, I’ll use it.
I agree, Apple appears to have completely lost interest in Apple News. Why Apple can’t provide follow through is a mystery. What good is having billions upon billions in the bank if you dont use it to make world class products?
Take Aperture. This piece of software *redefined* DAM software for photography. It essentially created this entire category. For several years, it was by far, THE leading asset management program available. Then Apple lost interest in the program and slowly but surely, Adobe blew it away. A real shame.
Ummm…. Isn’t integrating too many functions into one app the problem we are having with iTunes? Just asking….
It can work when all the different functions fit under single unifying concept – in this case Reading. I can envision wanting to read, opening the app for reading, it having news, books, and magazine content laid out neatly for browsing, and having a good reading experience.
That doesn’t work with iTunes, because there is no single concept tying all its features together. It was tunes at one point, but not anymore. When I open iTunes, there’s just a ton of unrelated crap to deal with, to get to whatever it is I need to sync or listen or watch or buy or convert or backup or whatever is it that made me open iTunes in the first place.
iOS Music is hot mess right now, but that’s just because of bad design. All of its features could work in single, better designed app. All of its features are about Music, so I should be able to open the app and find something good to listen to without it being needlessly complicated.
I think that Apple needs to seriously consider splitting off software Apps and cloud services (not OS software) into a completely separate division from hardware, with its own president and management structure. I think this would be the only way to get focus and accountability for the software products.
Tim Cook is an operational genius for products where manufacturing is required, but I think it is becoming clear that Apple really needs to bring in someone who knows how to manage software development. They are two very different things.
I think Jeeve Stobs would fill the position well.
I would also add that Apple has the money to completely rewrite some of the more problematic Apps and cloud products. If really think some of the major software issues are what is holding back the Apple share price, particularly the cloud service problems. If they spent 10 or 20 billion to fix the problems, I really think that they would be repaid by 100 or 200 billion in added market cap.
1. Apple had the same software issues when Steve Jobs was around. Though I don’t disagree adding more focus on software is as good of an idea now as it would have been then.
2. critic2 you had me until you started talking about share price. It is not nearly that simplistic and there are many other factors suppressing Apple’s share price now as there have always been. you grossly oversimplify your concept of the market. and it’s a great leap to assume traders and investors even care about software functionality above profits and revenue.
Methinks only someone who works for a Wall Street firm would posit added market cap based on real value, and only someone in marketing at that…
Yielding another Filemaker? Which killed Appleworks, probably the most popular Mac software of all time, and brought forth Bento? Not a good history.
They could call it… Claris!
Those softwarers have all their unique agenda inside Apple. Their boss is in heaven, now their headless chicken wanting their pieces of fame through apps and UI/UX.
What a mess! Can’t have it all and please Apple stop being that money junky who want to provide everything…
There, I said it!
Merging into a single app. Hmmm, you mean like iTunes?
So far in the 9 beta News is underwhelming and buggy, but it is a beta. Overall I haven’t seen much in it that would make me keep coming back, disorganized and not filterable to much extent, but it does have promise. Nothing revolutionary though.
How about we wait for the 98% of customers to have a play of version 1.0 before you make the call
OMG, if Apple News isn’t a huge success, Apple is doomed! Blame Tim Cook.
Whether these things are bundled into one app or kept separate really has no bearing on their success. These apps are necessary, but as long as they exist and work OK, there is not a lot of reason to change.
word up noobs!
In looking at Apple News on my iPad, I am not impressed, Apple should just get FlipBoard, that seems to work pretty well, also not very impressed with the initial content either, while that may change over time.. its not very comprehensive..
This is a bunch of nonsense. Everyone screams that iTunes attempts too much within a unified app. Now, you want to unify this.
it is not Trivial to merge several disparate software functions into a unified app. They all use different codebases.
News is months away from release and yet the couch jockeys have already eviscerated it.
The problem with the News App, is that it it’s not front and center. If anything it should fully participate in your lock screen, but with that said, news is a hard nut to crack.
Swiping Left to right, to reveal Search, Siri Suggestions, Nearby and News, is a better approach. Linking news stories to the News App, would be a good idea.