AP News

Too bad they will be doing away with a MUCH friendlier app than this replacement. The new app does not present the stories as well organized as the previous app. It's like someone said: "Gee, it's time to update the app"- and totally blew it. Where I expect a written story, I get videos. Where is the news? Lots of junk. There is no way to have white letters on a black background so that you can read the news easier at night. This is a complete dud. I thought it was a joke, but I keep getting messages that the old mobile app will be going away soon. Did anyone even beta test this with a broad spectrum of people? Seems like the techies/marketing people got together and decided "Gee, people don't really want to read the news in an efficient way; guess we will dream up how they want to read/view the news without consulting them." I have a LOT of respect for the AP reporters; apparently the developers of this app do not. Nor do they have respect for AP News readers. Disgusting. I will NOT be using such an unfriendly app. If I could give zero stars, that's what it would get. As they say:"If it ain't broke, don't 'fix' it."

Whenever people ask me what my favorite app is I always answer that it is the AP app. It is a productive way to pass the time. When I am waiting to board a plane, on the line at the post office, or lying in bed, I can catch up on all the top news. The new app is different and I don’t love all the changes since I was so comfortable with the former version. I can, however, accept change. The only thing that really bothers me is that in the former app, you could choose a dark background with lighter text. This seemed easier on my eyes, especially at night. The white background is harsher and I don’t think I will be using this app for my news as much anymore. The only other thing that I would like to mention is that in an older version of the soon to be discontinued AP, the Sports topic could be sorted by individual sport. For example, you could choose Basketball and see only stories about that sport. It would be nice to be able to sort them again. Overall, I am a big fan but would love to see the return of the dark background.

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This used to be my ONLY, go-to App for News, especially when I refuse to watch “News” on the TV. I do this because “News” is no longer about facts but about “editorials,” “opinion,” and “interpretation” of facts, all designed around telling people (whichever side you are) what you want to hear, this making more people watch more often, which translates into ad revenue for them. Websites are worse, with constant pop-ups, ads “strategically” placed so that you can’t miss them, no matter how hard you try. Then this App began with ads that look like stories, formatted the same way as a regular article. I thought that this was sleazy and stupid, but they aren’t forcing me to click those, so I let it pass. NOW, however, every time (I tried 8 separate times and it happened all 8 times) I open a story before I even get finished with the first “sentence-paragraph” I’m automatically transferred to the App Store. I never clicked on ANYthing except the story itself. I’ve tested it, thinking that perhaps I “accidentally” touched something. Nope. AP now allows intrusive ads into their platform. All in the name of money. I get that they need it, that they rely on it. Everyone does. But exiting the app entirely, interrupting the story for some stupid App that’s in no way related to the story I was interrupted from reading? This is getting out of hand.

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Let's start by pointing out the importance of fact based journalism in a free society and the long-standing respect the Associated Press has held (occasional bad writing and a few heavily biased stories not withstanding). This, however is a "Bad App." If we still had newspapers I'd roll it up and smack it across the nose with itself. First, there are no controls for notifications. If I don't follow football, I don't want to see notifications about it. If I followed celebrity news I wouldn't necessarily want to have my day interrupted by gossip. If it's not in my interested list, don't show it on my lock screen. Oh, and Top News does not override my extreme indifference to a topic. To be fair, no news app does this well, but I'm not reviewing them. Second, making the background of an ad a slightly different shade doesn't mark it as an ad, it highlights it. When skimming, the tiny, dark words marking an ad are ignored. What AP is doing us allowing companies to pay for fake news. Period. It's a disgrace and by definition reduces AP to a company where 1out of 10 stories is paid for corporate propaganda, except when it's a political group pushing an agenda. I was going to give the app a 2nd star for the sake of the Associated Press, but I can't in good conscience give credit to an app that presents propaganda as news.

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Everything that I liked about the old app was taken away.... Why??! I agree with most of the recent negative reviews - My feedback - 1) where is the ability to have a dark background for reading at night? 2) I loved having news separated into categories (I don’t need entertainment “news” mixed in with science, world etc) Similar to a newspaper divided into sections, I used to know where I would likely find a news item I was looking for 3) there is too much wasted space between news items, even when I request “fewer pictures” 4) I used to be able to add my local newspaper info and get local alerts. 5) I see little difference between “Top News” and “My News”.. same stuff put in whatever random order AP selects. PLEASE understand that the reason I am unhappy with the new app is that it is getting in the way of accessing the incredible reporting and timely news that I have come to count on the AP for! There are so many important, breaking news items that I have read about first in my AP app...it is the first place I look to see what is happening around the world. Please bring back the features we all loved in the old app, and keep the top-notch reporting. OK? Thanks.