The BuzzFeed News app is creating quite a buzz among Android handset users as it recently hit Google Play.
In its aim to offer its mobile audience an accessible, easy and interesting way to quickly catch up with the current events across the globe, BuzzFeed launched its news app for Android users.
In June, the popular app initially landed on iOS devices.
“We on #teamnewsapp are committed to delivering delightful news experiences just as everyone at BuzzFeed News is committed to being a reliable news source for our international audiences in the pursuit of having a positive impact on the world,” writes Stacy-Marie Ishmael, managing editor of BuzzFeed mobile news, in a blog post.
What motivated BuzzFeed to come up with a mobile app, according to Ishmael, is the fact that 25 million people visiting BuzzFeed News monthly do so through their mobile devices.
The app lets users select which topics they get alerts on. It also comes with a ‘do not disturb’ mode that pauses notifications.
“We want to give them the control, and tell us when they’re willing to be interrupted,” says Ishmael.
The app has complied with Google’s Material Design principles, showing off floating action buttons for notifications, a card-like look for every separate story on the landing page, as well as a sliding tab design.
It is also worth noting that the BuzzFeed News app uses emoji as a significant storytelling feature.
Ishmael said that emojis are used inside BuzzFeed’s content as these are interesting, expressive, as well as a surprisingly information-dense form of communication.
BuzzFeed News has two sections: the “Alert Stream,” allowing users to show the latest content from the chosen topics and the “Catch Up” tab, letting the users get a full scrolling feed of news articles.
The app can be downloaded for free via Google Play.
To date, the app has been downloaded 350,000 times on iOS.
In August, we reported that Facebook was purportedly working on a standalone mobile news app with features that resemble Twitter. Users will be receiving mobile notifications via the application for breaking news.
counting on #teamnewsapp to tell you what’s ticking on @buzzfeednews? it’s time to get our new app for apple watch ⌚️ pic.twitter.com/QcsI41C2vM
— Gordon Mei (@gordo) September 25, 2015
