Anchored vs Sift and Hourly News: audio news on iPhone

HBKL Labs LLC ยท Updated 2026-11-07

Anchored writes one short audio briefing each morning from topics you pick and reads it in a natural voice. Hourly News plays the latest hourly audio updates from broadcasters it lists, and Sift is a written daily briefing that also offers audio. They suit different habits: a personal briefing, a live news stream, or a short written digest.

What each one says it does
AnchoredTurns the day's news from public sources into one audio briefing built from your topics and delivered at the time you choose, read by a natural American voice. Audio keeps playing in the background with lock screen controls. Requires a subscription.
Hourly NewsIts App Store listing says it plays the latest hourly audio news updates automatically from sources it lists, including NPR, BBC, CBC, ABC, CBS, VOA and DW, one after another, and lets you add any podcast as a custom source. It lists iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and CarPlay.
SiftIts App Store listing describes a focused daily news briefing of important world stories, each explained with why it matters and what could happen next, with no feed and no breaking alerts, and says it also offers audio briefings.
Price, as each listing states it
AnchoredFree to download; Anchored requires a subscription (Monthly or Yearly) with a 1-month free trial for new subscribers. Prices are shown on its App Store page.
Hourly News and SiftBoth are listed as free to download on the App Store (US) on the day below.
Who each one suits

Pick Hourly News if you want the latest broadcast updates the moment you open the app. Pick Sift if you want a written digest with explanations, with audio as an extra. Pick Anchored if you want one personal audio briefing waiting each morning, built from your topics.

Common questions

Which one plays live broadcaster updates?

Hourly News describes playing the latest hourly updates from the broadcasters it lists. Anchored writes its own briefing from public news sources rather than playing broadcasts.

Which one is a written briefing?

Sift describes itself as a daily news briefing app focused on explained stories, with audio as an additional option.

One option: Anchored

Anchored is an iPhone app that reads you a short daily news briefing every morning, from the topics you pick. It is one of three approaches described above.

About Anchored

Sources
  1. Hourly News (App Store listing), Urban Apps via the App Store. Listing description, US store, version 2.1.1. Read November 7, 2026.
  2. Sift - Audio News Briefing (App Store listing), Roshan Roy via the App Store. Listing description, US store, version 1.0.25. Read November 7, 2026.
  3. Anchored: Daily Briefing (App Store listing), HBKL Labs LLC via the App Store. Describes Anchored above. Read November 7, 2026.
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