Newsstand

Apple’s iBeacon used to push content to iOS Newsstand publications

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

As Apple continues work on implementing the iOS 7 iBeacon technology inside its own retail outlets, third-parties are taking notice.

Case in point: the shopping app Shopkick, which has recently teamed up with Macy’s to deliver the first major retail system based on Apple's new iBeacon trigger technology.

If you're not familiar with it, iBeacon is an indoor positioning system based on Low Energy Bluetooth (BLE), also known as Bluetooth 4.0 or Bluetooth Smart. It taps tiny, pervasive transmitters which can send push notifications to iOS or Android devices within close proximity.

These notifications can deliver marketing messages like discounts and some have speculated that iBeacon could even power a new kind of point of sale wireless payment solutions that won't require NFC.

And now, one company has taken iBeacon presence notification one step further by imaginatively using Apple's technology to give bar patrons free access to Newsstand magazines and help sell subscriptions...

Google launches Newsstand for Android, iOS app coming in 2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 20, 2013

The Internet giant Google today moved closer to consolidating its digital magazine offerings by merging magazines and newspapers along with the Currents app into a new software, known as Google Play Newsstand (seriously?). Google Currents functionality has now been folded into Newsstand, now available for download on Android devices via the Play store.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed that an iOS version is coming in 2014. In addition to subscriptions to digital magazines like Hearst, Conde Nast and Time Warner’s Time Inc. sold through Google Play Magazine, the company has now started selling newspaper subscriptions, with The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times and Los Angeles Times acting as premium launch partners, among other publications.

Apple of course has its own digital store for magazines and newspapers in the stock Newsstand app on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices so it'll be interesting seeing how Google's latest endeavor plays out in the greater scheme of things...

iPhotographer Magazine launches on Apple’s Newsstand, free issue available

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

We love iPhone photography, sometimes referred to as iPhoneography, here at iDB. We love learning new methods to take better photos with our iPhones, and of course, sharing those methods with our awesome readers.

With that in mind, we wanted to tell you about a new digital magazine devoted to the subject. It's called iPhotographer, and it just launched on Apple's Newsstand this week with—wouldn't you know it—a free preview issue...

‘NewsTask’ prevents the Newsstand folder from appearing in the App Switcher

Jeff Benjamin ∙ June 4, 2013

Newsstand is basically just a glorified folder, no? So why does the Newsstand folder show up in the app switcher, when regular folders don't? That's the question asked by the developer of NewsTask, a new jailbreak tweak that prevents the Newsstand folder from appearing in the app switcher.

Popular Apple blog ‘The Loop’ launches bi-monthly iOS magazine on Newsstand

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

I'm a big fan of veteran Apple blogger Jim Dalrymple and his insightful, unapologetic writing over at The Loop, where he's Editor-In-Chief. You could say Jim is something of a personal hero to me, at least when it comes to blogging about Apple.

While people who follow @jdalrymple on Twitter know him as 'The Beard', Jim's an Apple journalist's favorite go-to source whenever a major rumor needs confirming.

With his deep connections at Apple, he occasionally lends his aura of credibility to unconfirmed stories with a single 'yep.' And his proverbial 'nope' is well-regarded for shooting wacko reports by major outlets.

And now, putting all that expertise, experience and passion to work, Jim has launched a digital magazine for the iPhone, iPod and iPad devices on Apple's Newsstand...

How to use Newsstand as an app folder without jailbreaking

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

A new non-jailbreak tweak was recently revealed to us via email, and it involves the ability to place and launch an unlimited amount of apps from the Newsstand folder on iOS 6. Yes, it works perfectly fine with the iPhone 5.

First sent to us by reader, Pim Oomen, the trick involves a little bit of timing and practice. The end result is an infinite scrollable folder that may contain as many apps as you can throw into it.

The nice thing about this trick is that it doesn't rely on any external websites or apps in order to make it work. Take a look at our step-by-step video walkthrough inside to see how easy it is.

Apple rolls out new ‘Read Them Here First’ section in Newsstand

Cody Lee ∙ January 17, 2013

Today has actually been a pretty big day for Newsstand. Earlier we learned that long-time holdout Rolling Stone Magazine finally landed on the iPad. And this afternoon, Apple rolled out a new section to the store.

It's called 'Read Them Here First,' and it's essentially a list of magazines that are now available to subscribers days before they come to print, or other digital platforms. And the first featured publisher is Hearst...

Rolling Stone finally lands on the iPad

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

After a long two-year holdout, the popular magazine Rolling Stone has finally decided to embrace Apple's tablet. The publication's first iPad edition hit the Newsstand app last night in subscription flavors of $1.99 per month and $19.99 per year. It's optimized for the slate, and interactive, with iTunes links embedded in all media-related articles...

WSJ joins Apple’s Newsstand

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 21, 2012

News Corp.-owned Dow Jones' The Wall Street Journal newspaper has finally signed up for Apple's Newsstand, a service that brings subscription-based digital newspapers and magazines to your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. This means you can now subscribe to WSJ in-app, via iTunes billing, and get daily issues delivered straight to your iOS devices each morning.

You will also get alerts for breaking news and avoid sharing detailed information about yourself with the publisher. The move wasn't entirely unexpected knowing that rival Time Inc., which had been the most prominent holdout, also signed on earlier this year...

‘Download To Newsstand’ makes it easier to identify pending downloads

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

It's always great to open up the App Store and find a dozen new app updates waiting for download, but downloading so many items at once presents a small issue. If you're like me and you have a ton of apps scattered around four or five pages in multiple folders, then it can be tedious to locate each app to check its download progress.

Download To Newsstand is a recently released jailbreak tweak that attempts to address this. It moves all pending downloads into the Newsstand folder for an easy to see centralized location for all pending downloads.

New Apple magazine ads spotlight iPad mini and Newsstand

Cody Lee ∙ November 28, 2012

It seems like Apple's been on a bit of a marketing blitz over the past few months. We've seen new iPhone and iPad mini commercials, a new Best Buy spot, and even animated online ads. And now they've moved on to print.

Some new Apple ads have been discovered running in popular magazines like Time and The New Yorker that feature the iPad mini, illustrating it as a substitute for traditional magazines thanks to its size and Newsstand...

Blockbuster Video launches iPad magazine

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

You really have to feel for Blockbuster. After filing for bankruptcy in 2010, the one-time video rental giant has struggled to make any sort of comeback in a market now dominated by digital services like Netflix and iTunes. And apparently, it's running out of ideas, because it just released an iPad magazine...