Apple News Launches in Canada with iOS 12.2 Beta, Supports English and French

This is not fake news—but Apple News has finally launched in Canada, as part of iOS 12.2 beta, released today for developers.

According to Apple’s release notes for iOS 12.2 beta:

Apple News will be available in Canada with iOS 12.2, and is now available for Canadian users on the developer beta. Apple News in Canada supports both English and French. Readers can access a bilingual experience when they follow a channel in a second language.

Image via Shawn H

Apple says the publications available within iOS 12.2 beta “do not reflect all content that will be available.” Also, Top Stories and Digests in the beta “are not updated as frequently as they will be in the shipping product.”

Image via @PhilippeODupuis

Back in September, The Logic had reported Apple News was readying a launch in Canada “within the next year”, as the iPhone maker was busy headhunting journalists at the time.

Apple also previously acquired the Texture digital magazine service last year, which was partly owned by Rogers Media, bringing over 200 top magazines worldwide to Apple’s digital portfolio.

With the official debut of Apple News in Canada with iOS 12.2 beta, Canadians will no longer have to use a workaround to access the service, but now have the app with native support for both English and French from local news sources.

It’s been a long journey for Apple News to reach Canada. The service originally launched back in 2015 with iOS 9 for users in the United States (we did get a News widget though!). Four years later, it has reached Canada for iOS 12.2 beta users. Expect the final release of iOS 12.2 to take place in a month or so.

Happy now?

Thanks everyone!