16 hours ago
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The Guardian has relaunched its mobile app to deliver more personalised, visual content and boost the prominence of podcasts, as part of a “mobile first” strategy.
A dedicated tab for podcasts has been introduced to help users discover and listen to new episodes via a new in-app player, while users can also listen to all articles using a text-to-speech feature.
The overhaul is an acknowledgment of how central the mobile phone has now become for many news organisations. Three-quarters of the Guardian digital audience who visit daily do so using a mobile device. The app has more than a million daily active users.
It also comes with media attempting to shore up a direct relationship with readers amid the increasing use of AI chatbots, which threaten to give information to users without ever delivering them to the original journalism it is sourced from.
The Times also recently relaunched its mobile app. In a sign of the increasing convergence that the digital age has brought, the commercial broadcaster LBC has launched a new app that it describes as a “one-stop destination for breaking news, expert analysis, and trusted opinion”.
The new Guardian app aims to show off a wider range of its journalism. There is a new hub for its most popular puzzles – another driver of audience engagement – and a “less overwhelming” homepage.
It also reflects a trend towards different forms of journalism, with more curated selections of photography, video and other forms of visual journalism.
Delivery of journalism through the mobile phone has become a clear focus for media companies, with users of apps more loyal and engaged. At the Guardian, app users have 15 times the average number of web page views.
A new homepage design has also been launched across all five editions of the Guardian: UK, US, Australia, Europe and international.
Katharine Viner, the editor-in-chief of Guardian News & Media, said: “The new Guardian app and homepage mark a major step forward in how we deliver our journalism to the millions of people who read, listen to and watch the Guardian every day.
“Our digital relaunch is more visual and contemporary and will allow us to keep innovating and developing new ways to project Guardian journalism around the world.”
Alex Breuer, the executive creative director at Guardian Media Group, said: “In the redesign of the Guardian app and homepage our priority has been to showcase the speed, depth and breadth of our journalism with the brand flair we are renowned for.
“We’ve made the layout a more dynamic design and experience. This helps our audience stay informed with independent and distinctive news and features.”
The app is available for download on iOS and Android.
