18. NEWS APP CRITIQUE

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 Flipboard News App


    When I first began thinking about this assignment, my immediate thought was to do a critique on a news app that I was more familiar with. This includes the Apple news app, Buzzfeed News, and others. However, I eventually decided to do a quick Google search to see what the Internet thinks are the top news apps right now. One app that was on every list that I saw was an app called Flipboard. 

    I had never heard of this app, but it has a 4.7 star rating on the app store and covers a wide variety of topics. I decided to download it and give an honest opinion about the app. Starting off, Flipboard has a nice clean look to it. It keeps a simple color theme of red and black, and begins by walking through a short tutorial that explains how the app works.

    First, Flipboard shows the user a screen full of various topics and allows them to pick which topics best interest them. This is my screen with the topics I chose. 

    Lastly, before getting started in the app, there is a quick three step tutorial that is shown to the user about how Flipboard works and what it can be used for. Flipboard is set up in a magazine style that looks as if you are flipping pages while reading the articles. The app also has a feature allowing users to collaborate with friends to put together their own magazine-style news page.

    Altogether, I think Flipboard is an aesthetically pleasing, decent news app that can be used to play to anyone's interests and likes. However, one thing that is not my favorite about the app is the way it intermingles all of the news into one place. Personally, I like an app or website that separates the news based on topic. I like when there are separate tabs for things such as Politics, International News, Feature News, and others. Flipboard groups everything together so, for example, your story on healthy living might be right next to a story about the 2020 election. While it is not a huge problem, it just seems slightly unorganized which makes my type A brain sometimes get a little bit scattered. 

    Another small detail that slightly bothered me about Flipboard is how the app only shows the headline of the articles within the app. When you click on an article, it takes you to a separate window with the article on it. For example, if I click on an article from the New York Times, I will be taken to the New York Times website and to their article. If someone is looking for a news app whose articles are written by the app's employees, then I would not recommend Flipboard. Finally, putting together these critiques plus the things I do like about the app, I give Flipboard a 3.5 out of 5 stars.







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