This is Why Apple News Sucks

I have rarely used Apple News, but with its inclusion in macOS Mojave, I have been checking it out recently. But it sucks. Here’s what I see today:

Apple news sucks

In what world what a story about extra-gooey-cheesy breakfast sandwiches be the top story? Is this a flawed algorithm that is pushing this story as the leader? I don’t follow the “food” topic, so I don’t see how this story even gets in my feed.

But look at the rest of the stories in the For You section; not one of them is in any way serious or important; maybe the Barnes & Noble story, if you’re an investor or publisher, but the rest of the top stories – travel, movies, etc. – how can anyone take Apple’s algorithm seriously?

Given how the news has been weaponized, and how important it is, Apple simply has to do better than this.

30 thoughts on “This is Why Apple News Sucks

  1. Have you tried the News Top Stories tab? As I understand the For You tab…over time it learns your likes and curates accordingly. Perhaps Mojave hasn’t had enough time yet to get to know you?

  2. Have you tried the News Top Stories tab? As I understand the For You tab…over time it learns your likes and curates accordingly. Perhaps Mojave hasn’t had enough time yet to get to know you?

  3. I am on Sierra so perhaps things have changed; but in my case, all the news items are not only relevant and up to date, but comprehensive when one clicks on them for more info.
    I presume this is all to do with selecting one’s personal preferences? It’s true, I do get food stories and other stuff of little interest to me; but always well down the list of news items – pages down in fact.
    So, I have to say that, all round, I’ve found News to be a good app for me.

    • The Apple News app is not available in Sierra. It’s iOS only, and coming to Mojave. Are you thinking of something else?

      • Sorry. Of course it’s iOS – I read it on my iPad Pro every day. I got confused by “Mojave”. Humble apologies. Age!

        I stand by my comments however.

        Ian T

  4. I am on Sierra so perhaps things have changed; but in my case, all the news items are not only relevant and up to date, but comprehensive when one clicks on them for more info.
    I presume this is all to do with selecting one’s personal preferences? It’s true, I do get food stories and other stuff of little interest to me; but always well down the list of news items – pages down in fact.
    So, I have to say that, all round, I’ve found News to be a good app for me.

    • The Apple News app is not available in Sierra. It’s iOS only, and coming to Mojave. Are you thinking of something else?

      • Sorry. Of course it’s iOS – I read it on my iPad Pro every day. I got confused by “Mojave”. Humble apologies. Age!

        I stand by my comments however.

        Ian T

  5. I am not seeing that. My Top Stories is at the top, then Trending, then For You, which does have relevant stories. I have been using Apple News on iOS so I guess it knows what I am interested in? On iOS I mark stories and sources I don’t like, so they don’t show up. Biggest issue I have with it is that it crashes. Maybe the next update will bring more stability for me.

  6. I am not seeing that. My Top Stories is at the top, then Trending, then For You, which does have relevant stories. I have been using Apple News on iOS so I guess it knows what I am interested in? On iOS I mark stories and sources I don’t like, so they don’t show up. Biggest issue I have with it is that it crashes. Maybe the next update will bring more stability for me.

  7. You need to give it some time and do a bit of work liking and disliking articles, sources and topics. In time it gets better, although to be honest I don’t remember seeing an article like that ever on the first page…

  8. You need to give it some time and do a bit of work liking and disliking articles, sources and topics. In time it gets better, although to be honest I don’t remember seeing an article like that ever on the first page…

    • This is not the first time I’ve used it. I’ve tried it on iOS and selected a number of topics and sources. But I stand by what I said: there’s no way a story like that should ever be the lead.

    • This is not the first time I’ve used it. I’ve tried it on iOS and selected a number of topics and sources. But I stand by what I said: there’s no way a story like that should ever be the lead.

  9. How come when i block a news source or any source (like mtv news) or something, it still shows up on the news feed under for you

  10. How come when i block a news source or any source (like mtv news) or something, it still shows up on the news feed under for you

  11. Yeh, and good luck customizing it. For instance, I blocked CNN. A box popped up that said, “We’ll stop showing stories from CNN,” yet when I close the app and reopen it, the very FIRST story is from CNN. When I go to Blocked Channels and Topics, it shows CNN as being blocked. I scroll down just a ways and already see 10 CNN articles. I’d like to be able to use the app, but if I can’t figure out why in the world I’d use this over something like Feedly where I can customize effectively.

  12. Yeh, and good luck customizing it. For instance, I blocked CNN. A box popped up that said, “We’ll stop showing stories from CNN,” yet when I close the app and reopen it, the very FIRST story is from CNN. When I go to Blocked Channels and Topics, it shows CNN as being blocked. I scroll down just a ways and already see 10 CNN articles. I’d like to be able to use the app, but if I can’t figure out why in the world I’d use this over something like Feedly where I can customize effectively.

  13. hey, it’s a year later, and guess what? Apple News still sucks, and sucks bad… especially now that there’s News+…

    well, at least we OS X users can delete Apple News – it ain’t worth a spit..

  14. hey, it’s a year later, and guess what? Apple News still sucks, and sucks bad… especially now that there’s News+…

    well, at least we OS X users can delete Apple News – it ain’t worth a spit..

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