Nexus 5 with the new Google Play Newsstand
The Google Play Newsstand has arrived on Android as a new news and magazine subscription hub akin to the iOS version.
Google has launched its own news and magazine subscription portal in the form of the Google Play Newsstand, merging the Currents app within it.
The Android Newsstand allows users to subscribe to magazines and other publications within one app, similar to the way the iOS Newsstand functions.
However, Google also includes its Currents service within the Newsstand, offering a Flipboard-esque presentation of all the latest news from a variety of web sources.
“With Google Play Newsstand, discover more of the news and magazines that you care about all in one app on your Android tablet or phone. Enjoy breaking news and in-depth articles featuring audio, video and more. From sports, business, cooking entertainment, fashion and more – now get both free and paid news plus subscribe to vibrant full HD magazines, all in one place”, reads the app blurb.
Newspaper subscriptions available through the Google Play Newsstand include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. Often the newspaper subscriptions are offered with a 30-day free trial so you can give them a whirl before committing to a subscription.
Google states its Newsstand has around 1,900 free and paid for publications such as GQ, Cosmopolitan and Rolling Stone.
For iOS there is already a dedicated Current app offered for free for iPhones and iPads running iOS 6.0 or higher, which allows you to buy and peruse “magazine-like” editions on your device.
There will be a fully-fledged Google Play Newsstand arriving for iOS in early 2014, or so Google has promised. It will then directly compete with the in-built Apple Newsstand, which offers a very similar service.
Read more: Best Android phones of 2013.
