Facebook is experimenting with how you get news on your iPhone

Also, Notify doesn’t have any ads (yet) and it has yet to be determined how much of a battery drain Notify will be since it’s constantly pinging alerts and a few stations, such as Eater’s new restaurants tool, require Location Services to be turned on, which is a notorious battery-drainer feature. Thanks to partnerships with heavy-hitting news sources (ABC, CNN, The NY Times), lifestyle brands (Racked, Epicurious, Wired), and more, users can customize their feeds to an even greater extent.

Notify marks Facebook’s biggest move into the world of breaking news and push notifications, which have become widely used by media organizations as a way to provide users with time-sensitive information and keep them loyal to particular apps and particular publications.

“Notifications are becoming one of the primary ways people first learn about things wherever they are”, Facebook said, introducing the app, which was rumoured last week. Closely following the sister “Instant Articles”, Notify is ready for its launch next week after early reports arose over the summer regarding the app’s testing. That gives Google Now more of a presence on Android devices, but Facebook is less intrusive and is available across operating systems. Since it operates similarly to News Feed, Facebook could insert sponsored cards from businesses, but it’s unclear if it would convert as well as in News Feed. Movie studios or local theaters could push their movies to the top of listings for showtimes, and television networks could do the same for their shows.

Facebook released Notify, a free standalone news app, on Wednesday. This clearly depicted the app’s growth in confidence towards distributing news.

When the notification appears on the lock screen users will either be able to tap on it to read an article or watch a video, which can then later be shared on Facebook.

It’s an odd model, and it’s leading many to wonder why Facebook built the app the way it did.

Ultimately, Facebook wants to take over how you use the Internet on your smartphone.

Facebook doesn’t want to just be the hub for all your friends’ news; it wants to be the center for all the news in your life.