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Flipboard Adds Audio To News Reading

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Popular news reading app Flipboard gains a new component with its latest update: audio.

Flipboard announced that its new partnerships with NPR, PRI, and SoundCloud help bring music, podcasts, news segments, “ephemera,” and more to the app. The partnerships bring a new dimension to the app, one that fits perfectly in the app’s experience.

The partnerships with NPR and PRI mean that Flipboard users get access to both the audio and written stories from both publications. Like the websites for both publications, users can choose to read stories from both, or listen to audio versions of the stories. The partnerships also add podcasts such as Fresh Air, Tell Me More, and Talk of the Nation to the app.

With the SoundCloud partnership Flipboard offers a selection of music from artists such as Snoop Dogg and Diplo. Users can also sign into their SoundCloud accounts to listen to audio from the people they follow on the service.

The audio section of the app also features other podcasts from publications like The Economist, video game website GameSpot, The New Yorker, and the TWiT network as well as music from record labels such as Atlantic Records and Ninja Tune.

When listening to music, news or podcasts in Flipboard, a music note appears in the top left corner of the app. Tapping the music note will show information about the audio playing. For podcasts that information will simply be the name of the audio, the source/artist, the time, and simple audio controls. SoundCloud audio will also have a like button.

The new audio features of the app are a great fit for the news reading app, and make the app into a great streaming audio player. Music and podcasts continue to play when the app is in the background. The new version of the app likely won’t replace a dedicated podcast player, but it’s a great way to listen to some streaming audio.

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