Apple News+ rolls out new game and offline mode to drive subscriptions

Every player is fighting for the users’ attention in the crowded digital space. While the smaller ones are struggling more, the bigger ones are adding to their offerings to stand out and boost user base. In a bid to push their subscriber count, Apple’s premium news content offering News+ has announced the launch of Quartiles, a new original spelling game subscribers in the US and Canada, and a new offline mode that automatically provides recent and personalised news content for subscribers when they’re not connected to Wi-Fi or a mobile network.

“We’re always working to improve the experience for our News+ subscribers,” said Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News in a company blog.

“Our new daily word game Quartiles is a fun addition to our popular crossword offerings. And Offline Mode makes it easy to access the hundreds of magazines, newspapers, narrated articles and more included in a News+ subscription — no matter where you are,” she added.

Quartiles challenges players to form words by selecting tiles containing two to four letters, and users collect points based on word length.

New puzzles are made available everyday, and players can also choose to share a Quartiles puzzle with other News+ subscribers as well.

With iOS 17, Apple introduced a daily crossword and mini crossword puzzle for News+ subscribers in the US and Canada. News+ subscribers can also access a new Puzzles Scoreboard to see personalised stats and streaks for each puzzle, including their solve rate and their longest streak. Quartiles is the latest addition to these offerinfs.

Offline Mode on iPhone and iPad on the other hand can automatically download top stories and full magazine issues to access later, without Wi-Fi or a mobile connection.