The Best Apps To Keep Up With The News In Singapore
17/08/2022
Consuming the news is a daily routine in most peoples lives. the news helps us keep up to date with what's happing in Singapore and around the world. Back in the day, news used to be consumed through radio, television, and of course the newspaper. It's still possible to consume the news thought those channels today and some people do just that. However these days there are easier ways to keep up with the news.
We have websites and apps that provide us the news as it happens. In Singapore, The Straits Times and Channel News Asia are probably the most trusted sources, but there are several others and we will discuss them in a bit. Since we always have our phones with us, it's one of the most efficient ways to check the news.
Now there are 3 ways we can use our phones to check the news. The first way is by using a news aggregator. If you like consuming news about a certain topic or from multiple locals, you could use an aggregator that pulls the best news sources from the web into just one app. The second way is by using your favorite news channels mobile app. The app will contain all the articles and additional features like important notifications. The third way is by using Social Media. You can get the news by following news channels in Facebook, Twitter or even Reddit. In Singapore, many news sites also distribute their news stories through Telegram channels. So if you're not sure which news app is for you, you've come to the right place because here is a list of a few of the best news apps in Singapore.
Now we might all know Twitter as a social media app which might be true, but Twitter is also an excellent source for receiving news. You can follow the accounts you're interested in and see their updates as they post new Tweets. The reason Twitter is so popular, is because you can follow your favorite news companies such as The Straits Times and Channel News Asia, as well as independent journalists, brands, celebrities and even your friends. With the Twitter app you can also comment and like on posts which give users a way to share their thoughts on certain topics.
Similarly to Twitter, Reddit could also be considered a social media app because of how it works. The apps main feature is something called a subreddit. A subreddit is essentially a community about a specific topic. For example r/singapore is a community where people can follow things that happen in or relate to Singapore. However you can follow account that share content about world news, politics or even a more niche subject like men's fashion.
Users with a Reddit account can post ether a link, image, video or text article and then any one will be able to see the post and either vote it up or down. The more "upvotes" a post has the more it will stick to the top and allow more people to see it. People can also comment and share their thoughts on posts. Reddit is known for it's anonymous nature, where people don't use their real names in their account and share their most honest and direct thoughts.
The Straits Times
This app needs no introduction as I am sure everyone has come across at least one article from The Straits Times. The SPM Media owned company delivers news from Singapore and around the world to both their website and mobile apps. The mobile app is completely free to use and subscribers get unlimited access to the latest content. The app has a pretty standard layout with a bottom navigation bar to easily move to different sections of the app.
The home tab is the main source of content. Here you can find articles that cover breaking news as well as insights on Asia and the world. There is even content about lifestyle trends, food reviews, and weekend ideas. The app also includes exclusive videos and live shows! If you like consuming Instagram stories, you will be glad to know this app uses the same format to deliver multimedia news stories in a way you are used to consuming media. You can also share articles or bookmark them to read later.
Channel News Asia
Channel News Asia is another great place to get the latest news stories from. They cover news from Singapore, Asia and around the world. Channel News Asia is owned my Mediacorp and they share content over their website, mobile apps as well as social media.
The CNA app is really easy to use. You can easily navigate through sections using the bottom navigation bar. The home section covers the latest news stories and expert analysis about Singapore with tabs to select the categories you are interested in. Some categories include the latest news, commentary, sustainability and even lifestyle. The discover section let's you see what's trending right now as well as discover new, interesting content picked out by the editor. The watch section let's you view Channel News Asia's live stream 24/7. You can also find some interesting documentaries there. They also have a listen section where you can tune into CNA938 radio for the latest stories. The app also let's you customize your feed to follow topics or journalists you are interested in.
Lianhe Zaobao
Lianhe Zaobao is most popular Chinese news and entertainment app in Singapore. Singapore has a large Chinese speaking community and Lianhe Zaobao brings them news from Singapore and the world is a way that's pleasurable for them to consume. The app includes informative articles as well as podcasts, videos and livestreams.
The user interface of the app is optimized for a great user experience. The bottom navigation bar lets users easily move between sections and the sub-category bars lets users easily find the content they are looking for. You can find a multimedia section with all the videos and more. You can also use the bookmark section to pin your favorite content for later consumption. Other nice touches are text to speech converting, notifications about news and font size adjustment settings to make reading as comfortable as possible.
Google News
Now this app is a little bit different from the past ones we covered. Google News is a news aggregator. What this means is that they pull in news from many news sources into one place. So instead of just reading the news from one site, you can read the best articles from multiple sources. Since Google is the biggest search engine in the world, they have all the data to know which articles are the most popular and can list them within their news app.
Now the app is really useful because of it's "For You" section. This is basically where you get your daily briefing based on your preferences. You can set your region preferences, niche preferences and even select which news sites you like. The more you read, the more Google News knows what you like consuming. The best thing about the app is how simple it is to use. In typical Google style, the app has a clean, minimalist look and has a dark mode option for night time reading. The app is available on the app stores, but also the web on mobile and desktop.
PressReader
PressReader is a digital newsstand where you can find over 7000 of the world's newspapers and magazines. The app lets you read your favorite articles from many sources and also discover new interesting reads. A really cool features is that you can read them with the mobile optimized text view or you can toggle between the actual look as if it was a physical copy. When reading you can translate the text, listen to the article with text to speech conversion and leave comments or notes on certain pages.
Unfortunately this app isn't free to use, although they do currently offer a 7 day free trial to new users. The app works with either subscription mode where you can pay a monthly fee and have unlimited access, or you can just pay a once off fee and get the newspapers or magazines you want.
The Business Times
The Business Times covers the latest finance and business news in Singapore as well as some global analysis from other markets. The app is easy to use and relies on a bottom navigation bar. The home tab includes the lates and most popular articles, while the sections tab breaks the content up into their categories such as "Government and Economy", and "Companies and Markets" to help you find the content you are looking for.
The app also lets you view short summaries of content if you want to know whats happening but don't have time or interest to go through the full article. You can also bookmark articles you like for later and receive push notifications about trending articles or important news. They have a premium option as well if you want to subscribe to that. You will get access to mobile only content as well as print edition stories, e-papers and infographics.
TODAY
Today is another popular Singapore newspaper owned my Mediacorp. They were actually the first company in Singapore to go for a mobile-first transition. This a huge for them as mobile ended up being the default way that people consume media. They share their news stories through their website, mobile apps, social media and messaging platforms. Today covers news from Singapore, Asia and around the world and creates conversations around topics such as crime trends, dating habits and climate change.
The home section of the app is where you will find all the articles you might want to read. You can a category such as "Singapore", "World", or "Top Stories" to filter articles that you are interested in. They have a really interesting section called "Minute", which breaks the news up into quick notes so you can take in all the latest happenings in a few minutes. You can also watch video features, receive push notifications and toggle dark mode to continue reading the news comfortably at night.
The Economist
The Economist is a global newspaper that provides informed perspectives on global developments. They cover everything from politics, business, finance to science, technology and economics. Their content covers pretty much every region of the world, and is a popular source of news in Singapore.
The home page of the app includes a section about the top stories right now, as well as a daily news section about the latest news of the day. Just by keeping an eye on those you will have a good understanding of what is happening around the world. The Economist also has a weekly magazine and you can actually purchase this digitally in the app under the "Editions" section. The app has some helpful features such as the ability to bookmark articles, see the reading time, search for what you want, and you can even narrate the articles on the go.
