Facebook Releases a News Reader App Called 'Paper' for iOS, Streamlines the News Feed

Everything you like about Facebook, without the things you don't.

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Facebook just released something that's different than anything they've done before—and it's going to cause other apps like Flipboard and Pulse a huge headache. 

The company launched Paper today, a news reader app for iOS that transforms Facebook's News Feed into a digital newspaper. Though its icon looks strangely like an aged floppy disk, Paper is beautiful in just about every other facet. Flipboard users will feel right at home: Paper makes use of large photographs to navigate through stories. Yet, Paper doesn't forget that Facebook is still at its heart, and users are able to receive notifications and updates via the app. After users download it, a female voice will help guide them through the basics of navigating the app. Users are then instructed to add sections, such as Headlines, Ideas, Tech, and Planet, among a few others. A noticeable difference between Paper and Flipboard is how you get to these stories. Where you flip through virtual pages in Flipboard, in Paper, you horizontally scroll through stories in a window placed at the bottom of the screen. Although the sacrifice is that headlines are smaller than Flipboard's, they're still readable, and you're able to choose what to read, just more quickly. 

Download Paper for free at the App Store here.

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