apple newsstand is a builtin application on apple inc. ios devices the ipad, iphone and ipod touch. it is dedicated to downloading and displaying digital versions of newspapers and magazines.
the application is selected by touchscreen and when opened is a visual shelf, directly on the home screen, similar in style to ibooks. it emulates a newsagent's shop with virtual shelves that hold and present each newspaper and magazine that has been downloaded in to view and read, in one place. the app icon updates with the latest front covers with a notification indicator of new editions.
there is a store button in the lower right corner, to go directly to the newsstand category in the app store, where after a newspaper and magazine is downloaded for free, inapp subscriptions or per individual periodicals can be purchased with an itunes account, to download and deliver in the background the most recent edition of news automatically.
the most popular and largest printed newspaper and magazine names now publish digital content specifically designed for mobile devices and tablet computers, often including interactive content that is unavailable in printed form.
newspaper and magazine brands have the option to move their current ios apps to be inside the newsstand app. previously, before the release of apple newsstand, many brands had released their own separate ios apps, and this gives them an option to nest these apps within newsstand instead of remaining outside it (although brands can optionally release new versions of their ios app to achieve this instead), in order to be part of the official newsstand category within the ios app store and to take advantage of various features of apple newsstand. one of the first apps to do this was the new york times, who moved their previously external ios app to be inside newsstand, on initial release of the newsstand app.
