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Apple News vs Flipboard
August 22, 2025 | Author: Adam Levine
9★
Apple News provides the best coverage of current events, curated by expert editors. And enjoy hundreds of popular publications with Apple News+.
11★
Flipboard is your Personal Magazine. It's a single place to discover, collect and share the news you care about. Add your favorite social networks, publications and blogs to stay connected to the topics and people closest to you.
Apple News and Flipboard are both news reading apps but with different philosophy.
Availability and platforms
The main factor when comparing these two services is that Apple News is only available on Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac) and only works in a limited number of countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia, etc.). Apple News does not even provide an online/web interface. So, if you want to compare these two, you probably use an iPhone and live in one of these countries. If not, then the choice is obvious - use Flipboard, which works on any platform and in any country (well, almost any, since it is blocked in some countries).
Quality of Content
Both services say that they cooperate with large media and popular publications. But, if Apple really has partnerships with leading media companies (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, etc.), then I have doubts about Flipboard. Rather, Flipboard collects news on its own from any sources that it considers popular. In most cases, this is good thing, because you get a look at the same event from different points of view. Content is collected not only from the media, but also from blogs, social networks and thematic sites. While Apple News relies on a careful selection of publishers, which of course excludes fake news, but limits your view of the world. Apple News also has a subscription to magazines that are closed to Flipboard and it also shows sports results.
Personalization
Personalization in Apple News is limited by a small set of sources and weak automation. In fact, you choose interesting sources, topics, set your location and that's where personalization ends. You will receive news that is interesting mostly to the editors. Flipboard, in this regard, is more like TikTok. Choosing interesting topics and sources is just the beginning of the game. Therefore, the application tracks you and uses AI algorithms to slip you the news that may interest you. The more interactions (reading, likes, saving), the more accurate the recommendations. However, Flipboard does not succeed in pushing news based on your location.
Interface and user experience
The name Flipboard speaks for itself - you flip news like videos on TikTok. It is very convenient. On one page there are usually two news with pictures or maybe 3-4 without pictures (only headlines). If there were no ads, it would be perfect. Apple News is less convenient - it is just like a mobile website that you scroll down and open the news pages that interest you. However, Apple News has one important advantage - the ability to read news out loud. Then the appearance of the interface ceases to matter. And due to the integration with Apple CarPlay, you can listen to the news while driving. Another plus - there are no ads in Apple News (well, almost)
Functions
Both applications provide the ability to save articles for reading later, synchronize settings and news-feed between your devices. On top of that, Flipboard has the ability to add/read comments, create "magazines" - personal collections of articles and stories, subscribe to other people's collections and share your own, import content from Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks. Unique features in Apple News are the already mentioned text-to-speech, offline access and daily puzzles, which are unclear how related to reading the news (okay, newspapers used to have crosswords before).
Security
Both services require mandatory registration, which means they identify you as a reader of certain news/sources. Of course, Apple swears that no one will access your information without your permission and it will never share it with others or allow advertisers to track you. It uses Apple ID for secure authentication. With Flipboard it's a little worse. The service has already been hacked and in addition, the use of AI personalization algorithms and ad display imply the collection and sharing of user data.
Pricing
Flipboard is a completely free service that lives off advertising. Ads are shown every 3-4 flips and are personalized to your preferences (again, not location). Apple News has a free version, but exclusive magazines, text-to-speech, sports scores, offline mode and even puzzles are only available in the paid version, which costs $12.99/month.
See also: Top 10 News Readers
Availability and platforms
The main factor when comparing these two services is that Apple News is only available on Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac) and only works in a limited number of countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia, etc.). Apple News does not even provide an online/web interface. So, if you want to compare these two, you probably use an iPhone and live in one of these countries. If not, then the choice is obvious - use Flipboard, which works on any platform and in any country (well, almost any, since it is blocked in some countries).
Quality of Content
Both services say that they cooperate with large media and popular publications. But, if Apple really has partnerships with leading media companies (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, etc.), then I have doubts about Flipboard. Rather, Flipboard collects news on its own from any sources that it considers popular. In most cases, this is good thing, because you get a look at the same event from different points of view. Content is collected not only from the media, but also from blogs, social networks and thematic sites. While Apple News relies on a careful selection of publishers, which of course excludes fake news, but limits your view of the world. Apple News also has a subscription to magazines that are closed to Flipboard and it also shows sports results.
Personalization
Personalization in Apple News is limited by a small set of sources and weak automation. In fact, you choose interesting sources, topics, set your location and that's where personalization ends. You will receive news that is interesting mostly to the editors. Flipboard, in this regard, is more like TikTok. Choosing interesting topics and sources is just the beginning of the game. Therefore, the application tracks you and uses AI algorithms to slip you the news that may interest you. The more interactions (reading, likes, saving), the more accurate the recommendations. However, Flipboard does not succeed in pushing news based on your location.
Interface and user experience
The name Flipboard speaks for itself - you flip news like videos on TikTok. It is very convenient. On one page there are usually two news with pictures or maybe 3-4 without pictures (only headlines). If there were no ads, it would be perfect. Apple News is less convenient - it is just like a mobile website that you scroll down and open the news pages that interest you. However, Apple News has one important advantage - the ability to read news out loud. Then the appearance of the interface ceases to matter. And due to the integration with Apple CarPlay, you can listen to the news while driving. Another plus - there are no ads in Apple News (well, almost)
Functions
Both applications provide the ability to save articles for reading later, synchronize settings and news-feed between your devices. On top of that, Flipboard has the ability to add/read comments, create "magazines" - personal collections of articles and stories, subscribe to other people's collections and share your own, import content from Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks. Unique features in Apple News are the already mentioned text-to-speech, offline access and daily puzzles, which are unclear how related to reading the news (okay, newspapers used to have crosswords before).
Security
Both services require mandatory registration, which means they identify you as a reader of certain news/sources. Of course, Apple swears that no one will access your information without your permission and it will never share it with others or allow advertisers to track you. It uses Apple ID for secure authentication. With Flipboard it's a little worse. The service has already been hacked and in addition, the use of AI personalization algorithms and ad display imply the collection and sharing of user data.
Pricing
Flipboard is a completely free service that lives off advertising. Ads are shown every 3-4 flips and are personalized to your preferences (again, not location). Apple News has a free version, but exclusive magazines, text-to-speech, sports scores, offline mode and even puzzles are only available in the paid version, which costs $12.99/month.
See also: Top 10 News Readers
