MSN News becomes Microsoft News, mobile app now available for iOS and Android

MSN launched on the same date as Windows 95 — August 24, 1995 — and in the years that followed it expanded into multiple branches. In 1999, the MSN.com domain name was turned into a web portal that received multiple updates and redesigns over the years. In 2005 and 2006, for example, many MSN services were reorganized under the Windows Live banner: MSN Hotmail became Windows Live Hotmail (and in the meantime it turned into Outlook.com), MSN Messenger was renamed to Windows Live Messenger (which was integrated into Skype), and so on. Now, it looks like the time has come for MSN News to become Microsoft News.

According to the Windows Experience Blog, Microsoft's network of web and app experiences that started as MSN now reaches almost half a billion people in over 140 countries, supporting no less than 28 languages. Rob Bennett (Microsoft News Editor in Chief) wrote the following regarding the transition from MSN News to Microsoft News: "Microsoft News is the new name for our news engine that powers familiar sites like MSN.com, and our newly redesigned Microsoft News app for iOS and Android. Microsoft News also powers news on Microsoft Edge, the News app in Windows 10, Skype, Xbox and Outlook.com."

Microsoft News delivers content from over 1,000 premium publishers and over 3,000 brands in all major markets, including names like USA Today, FOX News, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Le Monde, Die Welt, BBC News, and more. 

The mobile Microsoft News apps come with new personalization features, a new dark theme for better reading at night, seamless integration with iOS and Android widgets, easy to configure breaking news alerts, and much more. Sadly, some of the comments on Google Play reveal that — at least for some users — the brand-new Microsoft News app is very slow and there are also some ads "disguised as news" that will probably keep some users away.

If you still need to find the time to take Microsoft News for a spin, you might want to check the quick hands-on video below. It might save you some precious time, after all. If you are already using Microsoft News on your iPhone or Android handset, let us know what you think in the comments.