The Australian Financial Review has launched a redesigned and optimised app for iPad, with additional daily and weekly content, as well as several new features.

Audiences are increasingly turning to mobile, with two thirds of Australian business leaders accessing their business news on a smartphone or tablet. The Financial Review has also enjoyed strong mobile growth, increasing its audience by 70 per cnet over the last 12 months.

Enhancements to the app for iPad reflect the demand from growing mobile audiences and feedback received from Financial Review subscribers.

The new app for iPad has been upgraded to feature:

•      More frequent news updates
•      New content sections, including Leadership, Smart Investor and BRW
•      A cleaner and more intuitive design
•      New menu and layout for simplified navigation
•      Native integration with push notifications, easier sharing of articles and multi-device integration.

“The new Financial Review app for iPad is designed to meet the needs of our mobile audience and drive further engagement,” The Australian Financial Review editor-in-chief Michael Stutchbury said.

“Our readers have made the app part of their daily routine, spending more than 10 minutes per session on the app. We continue to innovate and enhance our digital offering to deliver Australia’s most trusted finance, business and political news in line with our audience’s changing media consumption habits.”

For advertisers, the app offers sponsorship packages to target specific audiences while they engage with topics of interest, as well as new ad formats such as full-page advertising in sections.

“New full-page ad formats on the Financial Review app for iPad will make use of the screen’s real estate, giving advertisers a canvas for maximum impact. These formats can also be interactive, by zooming or tilting the device for example, further driving engagement,” Fairfax Media mobile director Stefan Savva said.