Apple News and Apple News+ get new audio stories, briefs and curated local news in US

For subscribers in the United States, Apple has released new features on Apple News and Apple News+ apps. Subscribers can now listen to audio coverage of some of the best-featured stories, daily news briefings, and curated local news. The company has also added more news outlets for subscribers.

The new audio features are available on iPhone, iPod touch, and CarPlay, with sync listening support across devices so that users can continue listening to audio stories while driving or at home. With over 125 million monthly active users, Apple News service is the first to offer audio coverage of news stories.

New Features in Apple News

Here are all the new features Apple News, and Apple News+:

Audio Stories on Apple News+

Now the service will offer 20 new audio stories per week. Narrated by professional voice actors, the stories will cover a diverse range of genres like travel, fashion, current affairs, and more by publishers like GQ, Sports Illustrated, Essence, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more.

Apple News Today

Shumita Basu and Duarte Geraldino, Apple News editors and co-hosts, will give daily audio news updates to listeners on popular news stories and how those stories are covered by other journalists.

Curated Local News

For more personalized news coverage, Apple News has curated local news of a variety of genres for local communities like weather, food and dining, sports, politics, and more. The service will feature news pieces from local publishers in each region. Currently, the new feature is available in the following cities:

• Bay Area
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• New York
• San Francisco

For Apple News+ subscribers the company has added new local and regional publishers in the US and Canada.

• • In the United States
    • The Charlotte Observer
    • The Idaho Statesman
    • The Kansas City Star
    • The Miami Herald
    • The News & Observer
    • The State (Columbia, South Carolina)
  • In Canada
    • Le Devoir (French- language newspaper)
    • The Global and Mail will be added by the end of summer this year

Users can access new audio stories and Apple News Today via a new Audio tab at the bottom of the News app. The tab will allow users to queue audio stories and get recommendations based on their most listened to news categories and interests. Lauran Kern, editor in chief of Apple News said:

“Apple News showcases so much great journalism, and we’re excited to help bring it to life in new ways with Apple News+ audio stories and a new daily news show, Apple News Today. We also greatly value our many local news partners — our new local news feature highlights their work for readers who live, and are interested, in those communities.”

Apple News+ audio feature was discovered in June in iOS 13.5.5 beta code. The audio feature is designed like podcast style news coverage which subscribers can listen to when driving, commuting, or sitting in a park.

Apple News is available for free while Apple News+ is a monthly based subscription service. The news services are available in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia.