Apple is finally getting serious about beefing up its Apple News app outside its familiar stomping grounds of the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. If you’ve been itching to see those curated headlines and word games pop up in your country’s app store, you may be in luck. According to the Financial Times, Apple’s been quietly assembling a bigger editorial team—yes, that’s real humans, not algorithms—so they can bring more localized coverage and engaging puzzles to a broader global audience.
Now, here’s the kicker: the Apple News app doesn’t just highlight stories; it also roams around your wallet with display ads and the premium News+ subscription, which clocks in at about $12.99 a month in the US. That’s the same subscription rumored to drop fancy puzzle sections and exclusive content to new markets like the UK in the near future. With roughly 125 million monthly users, Apple News is already a formidable player in the media game, and it’s looking to stuff even more pages into that $96 billion-a-year services portfolio alongside Apple TV+ and Apple Pay.
But, as always, there’s a snag. Publishers admit Apple News drives traffic, but monetization is no walk in the park. Apple’s stringent privacy rules don’t exactly thrill advertisers who prefer poking around in user data to target those oh-so-lucrative demographics. Still, Apple insists that news sites tap into an upscale, well-educated readership—apparently quite the catch for media bosses. As Meta and Google continue messing with their algorithms, Apple sees an opening. Expanding the Apple News app to more corners of the globe could be its next big move to keep publishers—and itself—in the black.
