The Economist has become the latest brand to launch an Apple Watch edition, with users able to access the magazine’s weekly audio version.

Subscribers to The Economist’s app will be able to control playback of articles using Apple Watch, with functions including play, pause, skip to next track, rewind 15 second and modify playback speed.

The app launches on Friday 24 April, the date that Apple Watch becomes available to consumers in several international markets. However, it is understood the app will not yet display advertising.

Tom Standage, The Economist’s deputy editor and head of digital strategy, said the publisher hopes to attract new readers to the brand with the innovation: “You can’t read detailed, analytical articles on a watch, but you can listen to them.

“Subscribers who already like to listen to The Economist while commuting or working out can use our Apple Watch app as a handy remote control. We hope this will appeal to new listeners, too. We are excited to embrace this new platform.”

Earlier this month, The Economist launched a new video content division, Economist Films, with the aim of producing “high-end, factual programmes that capture the voice and identity” of the publication.