Brief - Just the news you need Reviews

by Teddy064

Does not seem independent. Slightly left leaning.
I understand the concept is being this app. However, it is a little too this app, does not give enough information about stories.
Unfortunately Brief does not support word definition. If a word is unknown, you have to leave Brief and look it up manually on the internet. As an immigrant, my English is not perfect. Therefore, I use this feature a lot reading The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times. Both publishings support this feature.
The price feels somewhat high in comparison, considering what is being offered.

by Music_keeper

I love the user interface and how it gives the facts with sources as well as several perspectives when available.

Thing is Brief did NOT hit the ground running. They seem to lack any enthusiasm of finding out what the reader actually wants out of a reading app.

I think Brief could improve by adding a search box engine and a place to bookmark stuff that you would like to read at a later time.

Considering this is a paid subscription app, I was expecting more articles.

I can get through all the briefings fairly quickly and I find myself constantly checking the this app app to see if there are more posted briefs. After being disappointed in the amount of articles that they are able to administer. I have chosen to remove Brief and cancel my subscription before the free trial ended.

Furthermore the customer service is non-existent. I have messaged them over a week ago and have yet to get a response.

This outcome has made it very easy to transition into an Apple news+ subscription.

I’ll just keep using my media bias chart for reference to make sure I get the least bias new possible.

by Pointofthought

While it is important to read the facts and not get bogged down with opinions, biases, misinformation and disinformation it is important to remember that with any news organization or app we are getting the stories the editors want us to see. I don’t care for only being able to see five or ten stories at a time, especially for a paid app. For eight dollars per month (and the Associated Press and Reuters are free and are considered to be as neutral and reliable as it gets) I don’t appreciate being limited in what I can read, especially such limitations as five or ten stories per day. The world is so much bigger than that and news is always happening, everywhere.

by Nelljac

I love this app and applaud them for being so succinct with their summaries. It’s easy to read an article, back track it in a very simple timeline format, and even read the sources linked to the summaries. The only update I hope will be available soon is to add the option to search articles. I want to be able to search events, political candidates, etc. and not have to wait for a bulletin to be published on that subject.

by Big Boi Jesse

I’ve largely avoided the news for the past 5 or so years due to the 2016 election. Mainstream media has historically been biased both from the left and right and been getting increasingly worse as what’s actually happening in world is buried under opinions and fluff. It takes far too much work nowadays to find the cold hard facts of what’s happening in America due to the great political divide we’re facing right now.

So here comes this app that practically fixes all that. It does exactly what it says on the tin - gives you the news in a this app, concise, and effective manner. I’m also pleasantly surprised that direct quotes from key voices involved in each article are listed at the end with no meaningless fluff to sway opinions. It’s as if we’re allowed to develop our own opinion on what someone says!

On top of this all sources used to form each article are listed with links, titles are not clickbait garbage, and proper titles for each person (Dr., President, Judge, etc.) in articles are used. Is this, dare I say it, actual journalism? And it’s been so long since I’ve seen that, I’ve forgotten how it looks like. Thanks this app.

by BillPowerless

I’m reluctant to admit this, but Brief has finally given me a way to stay consistent with the news. I just couldn’t do it before, it was way too overwhelming and I’d quickly get frustrated trying to keep it all straight—a rollercoaster of basically getting obsessive and determined and then burned out and apathetic. I’ve been consistent for weeks now and I at least retain a general grasp on what’s going on. If I want to dig deeper, I can—but this app doesn’t push it. THANK YOU! The “How we got here” feature is incredibly helpful...

by Zachary Buck

These days, the news is stressful, and I’m finding that consuming it through aggregators like Apple News is like drinking toxic sludge from a firehouse. Brief is giving me key articles, along with context and sources to review. I love it. I don’t feel disconnected from the world, but I’m also not investing every little gaff and slip that hits the news cycle.

Highly recommend it. Sub fee covers real editors doing real summaries with sources.

by Mr. Matthew R. K

This is absolutely the best news app I have ever used. News posts are short and take maybe 30 seconds to get educated on a current topic/event. Uses only facts, but at the bottom will show you what different people who are relevant to the situation have said. That way, you are absorbing the facts, and then can see what other notable figures have said about it. This keeps bias away from the news, but also shows you what your “side” and the other “side” are saying about it.

App is extremely clean, no excess information that doesn’t need to be there. Runs incredibly smooth with no notable errors or glitches. Easy to navigate and really showcases the beauty and simplicity of an iPhone.

They are also very thoughtful with notifications. Normally they will just put up a badge, and you’ll almost never get an overt and intrusive notification. You can see what articles they are working on, and if it’s something important to you, you can change the preferences for that one news article only. You can truthfully tell that the makers and editors of Brief have put an immense amount of thought into it, and it is an absolutely phenomenal experience; one that seldom is had when reading about the current political and global climate.

Thank you, this app, for keeping me informed, and not muddying the waters with biases. I truly appreciate this service, and look forward to using it for a long, long time.

by StrangeCoyote

I used to be a news hawk and politics junkie, but over the past few years I simply haven’t had the time (or desire for that matter) to pay as close attention.

While much of the news is empty and negative these days, it’s still very necessary to stay informed with important events. That’s why I love Brief.

It contains clear information, is well formatted, and offers a user-friendly interface.

From what I can tell, the information does not appear to be biased, and simply displays key points in an easy-to-process manner.

There’s a few tweaks I’d love to see made from a development/design standpoint, but all are minor and unimportant.

So if you’re wondering if it’s worth the subscription, definitely check out the free trial and try it for yourself.

by Roustie

I was skeptical at first about another news app. This one is so different. For those who want unbiased news in small manageable bites, it is worth the small cost so take the free trial and see an app who even will send you a reminder when it is not longer going to be free. CNBC is launching an unbiased news program at end of Set and this is the equivalent with small blocks of key news.

Do yourself a favor and try it.

by Joshlhead

I was always out of the loop, didn’t watch the news because of the time commitment mostly and also didn’t know who to trust. Everyone’s spinning something one way or another. Brief is so concise and straightforward and I love the “how did we get here” timelines. It’s so awesome, takes time fifteen minutes to read before I get ready for work while I make coffee..I no longer feel irresponsible for being out of the loop. It’s absolutely wonderful.

by Saliken

Unbiased, factual, important news, complete with commentary sourced from relevant sources; This is the way news should be presented, and is presented, in this app.

No longer do I waste precious minutes of my life scrolling through clickbait news filled with opinions and bias. this app gives you real news, not gossip, and does so succinctly and factually.

this app provides in-line references to important quotes and context, filling in the gaps many other news outlets leave open. this app’s timeline feature is very useful for catching up, or remembering older news stories. This can be especially nice for news spread out over long periods of time. You can even text the Editor if you have some feedback!

Do yourself a favor and ditch the biased clickbait calling itself news. Try this app.

by Itsannehh

this app is everything I’ve wanted in a news app and more. It’s like talking to a really smart, informed friend who breaks everything down for you concisely and manages to give a ton of context you don’t tend to see everywhere. Bonus points for their commitment to stay unbiased, accurate, and nonpartisan.

I love the simplicity of the layout and having the opportunity to scratch the surface of issues or do a deep dive whenever I have time for it. Considering the price of a subscription to The NY Times or the Washington Post, this app is a bargain.

by Kevin Foote

Brief is great. It’s not attention-demanding, unbiased, no ads, no sensational headlines, just facts. This really is how all news apps should be. I find myself spending a lot less time scrolling through endless articles like I did on other “news” apps. I also find myself feeling a lot less stressed out about the news I’m reading. The election tracker from fivethirtyeight is really useful as well. There’s a lot messed up in the world, and it’s really nice to see a tech startup trying to actually do something about it.

by Dawson Paul

Simple and easy to use. Don’t overload information at all. Quick to read articles with important information. They also include helpful links you can open within an article when something referenced something else or other events they’ve covered or something someone said. The support team is great and they listen to feedback and respond quickly and professionally. Also have a widget that’s not working yet but the development team told me they were working on a fix so hopefully that will work soon

by Xx_Topaz_xX

I’m a first time voter this year and I wanted to make informed decisions and I have become a bit obsessed with news and keeping up with current events. Brief is unbiased, just facts. I would recommend Brief to everyone, it is totally worth it. I had some questions and went to customer support and they are so kind and helpful! I hope that one day Brief is on everyone’s phone and considered to be one of the top apps for news. I am already recommending Brief to all my friends that I know that enjoy reading the news without the party bias! 5 stars all the way.

by Jshimkoski

Brief is, without a doubt, the most thoughtful app I’ve ever encountered. Everything from their subscription model to their transparent guidance regarding the badge on Brief icon (and how to remove it) is so refreshing. Honestly, other apps really need to look to this app’s approach as a best in class in user experience.

If that was the end of the story, this would still be the best news app out there. But, here’s the kicker, the straight to the point stories, the all facts and no fluff style, it’s all so refreshing, it’s just a beautiful experience. The annotations are brilliant. The concise stories are quick and easy to read.

I truly love Brief. Well done.

by Joanna Nurmis

this app is doing something exceptional to fight back against the barren hellscape of opinion coated information silos we all have been relegated to by smart algorithms seeking to maximize clicks & ad revenue. Cable news companies and social media giants know that we click the most on what we already agree on or what we want to be outraged by. this app is different. this app provides unfiltered, raw facts on each important news story of the day, letting you situate it in the context of what happened before, and providing diverse voices from people both inside and outside the story without any vapid punditry. I am already becoming a better citizen by using Brief, and it doesn’t consume most of my waking hours like the black hole of a Facebook or Twitter “feed”. This news is gourmet :)

by Ashy.aspen

this app is honestly one of the best news apps I’ve ever used. Their “perspectives” feature breaks the filter bubble, meanwhile their “how’d we get here” section gives important context to the ever evolving world we live in.

“Perspectives” takes opinions from multiple sources including other news outlets, and puts them all in one list. You can see how different people with different opinions are viewing and thinking about the news you’re reading, something that is typically quite hard to get from one source.

Every source has its bias, but this one really doesn’t. Instead it shows the opinions of everyone else in a balanced way so that you can understand every sides view. This is a valuable feature I’ve only found on “this app”

by Kosherko

Having accustomed to getting my news for free, never did I think I would willingly pay for news again. However, this app changed it all! After trying out the trial, I was so amazed how neutral and fact based their delivery, layout and annotations are. I had forgotten you could read news without feeling depressed, irrigated and/or mentally manipulated. I don’t dread reading news anymore. Also, the apps layout is super simple and the notifications are very unobtrusive.