Last week, Facebook (META 0.55%) announced its new Paper app, following years of speculation that the social network was working on a news reading service. The app officially launched today in what could potentially become a core offering for Facebook. Paper features an innovative and intuitive new interface design. In addition to displaying the core News Feed, Paper represents a big push into curated editorial content. Facebook has different content sections in which it showcases recent articles, for the first time offering some guidance beyond what your friends want to share. Paper takes a direct shot at Flipboard, as well as Twitter (TWTR). Twitter has focused heavily on growing its presence in news, recently partnering with CNN.
Facebook has launched several apps over the past couple of years geared toward different aspects of the service, but none have directly served as a substitute for the News Feed found in the flagship Facebook app. In a way, Paper could be the first truly mobile-centric attempt at reimagining the News Feed for mobile platforms. For now, Facebook will test out the new app as users give it a spin without ads. That way, its 1.2 billion users don't have to learn a new interface -- unless they want to. In the long run, Paper could become Facebook's primary mobile app.
In the following video, Jamal Carnette discusses Facebook Paper with Evan Niu, CFA.
