Five years after its initial launch, Apple News+ audio stories are expanding beyond the United States to include Australia, Canada, and the U.K. This feature, which offers professionally narrated versions of articles from various publications, was first introduced in the U.S. in July 2020. Users in these new regions can now access audio stories through the Apple News app and, for some content, the Podcast app.
Apple’s original announcement described the audio stories as “about 20 audio stories a week across a wide range of interests. Narrated by professional voice actors, these are audio versions of some of the best feature reporting and long-form pieces published by Esquire, Essence, Fast Company, GQ, New York magazine, Sports Illustrated, TIME, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Wired, and more, and newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal.” With this expansion, the audio story feature is now available in all four countries where Apple News+ has been released.
The limited global rollout is attributed to challenges such as distribution agreements, contractual arrangements with publishers, and the complexities of producing localized content in multiple languages. Despite these limitations, Apple continues to invest in the News+ platform, evidenced by the introduction of a Food section last year and a new Emoji Game. Apple News+ costs $12.99 per month with a 1-month free trial and is also part of the Apple One Premier bundle.
