Apple News launches in Australia – StartupSmart

Apple News has officially launched in Australia, with virtually every news publication in the country offering content on the platform.

The platform is now available to Aussie users that have upgraded to iOS 9.1.

Apple News users will be able to access content from the likes of the Sydney Morning Herald, Herald Sun, The Age, Australian Women’s Weekly, ABC, SBS and Guardian.

It’s been a controversial topic though, with the free content clashing with many publications’ paywalls. The Australian will only be offering its ‘Life’ section on the service.

The advertising model has also sparked some debate. While the publications get all the revenue have ads they sell themselves, Apple will also be selling ads on Apple News and taking 30% of the cut, stepping into the advertising game.

The Apple News feed is curated by journalists rather than an algorithm, and the service has a curated list, an explore section for stories readers might have missed, and allows users to preference their favourite publications.

As Gizmodo points out, Apple has made a big deal about how much it values keeping your reading habit private, so nobody will be able to see that tabloid you’ve been reading too much.

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