Concise vs Ben's Bites

Concise is a minimalist news reader that shows short, plain-language summaries with linked sources instead of full articles and social-style feeds. You browse top topics or search a subject you care about, read cited blurbs in a Newsfeed view, and skip images, infinite scroll, and engagement streaks.

Mainstream news apps optimize for time-on-screen with photo carousels and endless updates. Concise deliberately strips that out and adds bias cues and topic tracking so you can connect stories across outlets without wading through duplicate headlines. The trade-off is a text-first experience with fewer discovery tricks if you want visual breaking-news alerts.

Readers who want intentional news consumption use Concise on iOS and Android through the download flow linked from the homepage. The site positions the product as a calmer alternative to overwhelming news feeds, with citations and topic tracking baked into each summary.

Ben's Bites is a Substack newsletter for AI builders that ships twice a week with curated news, tool reviews, and mini-tutorials from founder Ben Tossell. Each issue covers what is worth trying in agents and models, with deeper founder stories and investing commentary mixed in.

Most AI newsletters chase volume. Ben's Bites filters launches through a small team (including an AI specialist who tests models hands-on) and pairs free posts with a paid community chat. The old Beehiiv URL now 404s; the publication lives at bensbites.com with 170,000+ subscribers and a separate news.bensbites.com feed for daily product launches.

Readers include developers and non-technical founders who want vetted picks without scrolling X all day. Paid community access runs $80 per year and unlocks chat with thousands of builders; refer friends to offset the cost.