Apple on Wednesday announced it has expanded the offerings on its Apple News service. The app, which reportedly has 125 million monthly users, can now access audio readings of certain articles, a morning news program and a broader selection of local news outlets.

These new offerings are split between the free and paid tiers of Apple News. The audio versions of articles will be available only to Apple News+ subscribers, the $9.99-a-month service that predominantly focuses on digital magazines and newspapers. Some of the outlets that will offer audio versions of feature stories include Esquire, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal and Vanity Fair.

The morning news show will be available to all users and is hosted by journalists Shumita Basu and Duarte Geraldino. It will highlight stories from publishers and outlets that partner with Apple.

Local news offerings will initially expand with a focus on several major metro areas: New York, Los Angeles, Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area. Just as it does for national news stories, Apple will employ several editors to curate local stories for each region. Local papers that partner with the tech giant will offer expanded content to News+ users.

Apple’s decision to expand news comes as it strives to compete with offerings from other tech companies while bolstering its services division. Google and Amazon have both begun offering options for their smart speaker products.

Meanwhile, as hardware sales continue to dwindle or plateau for Apple, it has increasingly poured effort into its paid services, included News+, Apple Music, and Apple TV+. There has been speculation that a bundle including some or all of these services will be introduced sometime in the future.

Apple News
Apple has introduced a new News section. Reuters/David Gray
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