Facebook reportedly developing Flipboard-like ‘Reader’ function for iOS

Flipboard iPad app

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Facebook is developing a new tool that focuses on news consumption in order to re-shape its identity as a social network, like Twitter, that can compete in the news consumption space. The project, which is reportedly called “Reader,” would be a feature that runs on Apple’s iOS Devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The WSJ shares some details on the project:

• – The feature will reportedly be similar to the popular Flipboard news app in terms of design
• – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly working closely on the project
• – The feature could have algorithms to determine which news should be highlighted to all Facebook users and which news should be presented to only specific customers
• – An Android version is not mentioned in the report. It sounds like Facebook wants to take advantage of software elements found in iOS
• – Mike Matas, one of the original interface designers for the iPad and iPhone, is leading design for the project

The report is unclear if “Reader” will actually launch or if it is just a project being toyed with internally. Additionally, the report does not seem to be sure if Reader is a standalone app for Apple’s iOS devices or if it will be integrated into an existing Facebook app or Facebook’s tablet and smartphone optimized website.

Facebook, in the past, has not been shy to split up features into apps. For instance, Facebook ships separate Pages, Messenger, and Camera apps, software for features already present in its main app.