Apple News announces audio additions, CarPlay compatibility and curated local sections

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Apple is expanding its digital news offering with the launch of a new daily podcast, audio stories and curated local news offerings.

“Apple News Today” will be a daily news briefing hosted by Apple News editors hosted by Shumita Basu and Duarte Geraldino. Apple says episodes will be about eight minutes long.

The podcast will be available for free to all Apple News users Monday through Friday.

Apple News+ subscribers will gain access to audio stories, an offering of about 20 stories a week curated from its content collection.

Selections will focus on feature and long form reporting and be taken from Esquire, Essence, Fast Company, GQ, New York magazine, Sports Illustrated, Time, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Wired and more plus newspapers.

Both of these new features can be found in the new “audio” tab in the Apple News app.

Both of these features will be tightly integrated in a new CarPlay app for Apple News.

In addition to the audio additions, Apple is also launching curated local news sections that pull content from regional publications in Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco areas.

Additional markets are planned for the future.