Comparison

The National vs iPhone User

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

The National

Access comprehensive coverage of Scottish news, politics, business, and culture. Enjoy insightful analysis, opinion pieces, and in-depth reporting. Stay updated with live news, read the digital paper, and enjoy interactive puzzles and audio articles.

Highlights
  • Live news updates
  • Ad-free reading experience
  • Daily digital newspapers
  • Interactive puzzles
  • Article audio player
Features
Read full description

The National is a dynamic newspaper providing comprehensive coverage of current affairs, politics, business, culture, and more. With a strong focus on national and international news, it offers insightful analysis, thought-provoking opinion pieces and in-depth reporting. As the first newspaper in Scotland to be written in support of independence, we thrive to provide our readers with top quality content covering Scottish affairs in politics & business as well as the latest sports and special features. The National app is the best way to keep up to date with all the breaking news, politics, sports and events in Scotland and gives you the following great features… β€’ Live Updates: Get the latest Scottish news, politics and sport as it happens β€’ Ad-Free Reading: No ads, no pop-ups, no distractions β€’ Daily Digital Newspapers: Read the paper in full, cover to cover β€’ Interactive Puzzles: Play new crosswords, sudoku and more every day β€’ Article Audio Player: Listen to articles and create content playlists All subscriptions are auto-renewing. Payment for this subscription will be charged to your Apple account upon purchase. The subscription will auto-renew within 24 hours of the current subscription expiring, at the same rate as the initial purchase. Auto-renewing subscriptions can be managed via Account Settings allowing them to be turned off. No cancellations of the current subscription are allowed during the active subscription period. Privacy Policy - https://www.newsquest.co.uk/our-policies/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

iPhone User

Features
Read full description

Do you want the latest iPhone news, reviews and technical help in one place? You have found it! iPhone User magazine’s high quality content is produced by our in-house expert design and editorial teams to produce the ultimate iPhone magazine for the informed user. Papercut’s iPhone User Magazine brings you the very best reviews and technical help for your iOS powered smartphone, covering all models including the iPhone 14 updates. This is the publication you will need to keep on top of the must know Apple software and iPhone hardware information and technical help from our team of Apple experts. If you use an iPhone you need to click subscribe, right now. 100% unofficial. ---------------------------------------------- This is a free app download. Within the app users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Subscriptions are also available within the application. A subscription will start from the latest regular issue at the time of purchase. -The subscription will renew automatically unless cancelled more than 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period, for the same duration and at the current subscription rate for the product. -You may turn off the auto-renewal of subscriptions through your Account Settings, however you are not able to cancel the current subscription during its active period. -Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when a subscription to that publication is purchased. -If a subscription offers a free trial, at the end of the trial period, you will be charged the full price of the subscription. You may cancel a subscription during its free trial period via the subscription settings on your iTunes account. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. Users can register for/ login to a pocketmags account in-app. This will protect their issues in the case of a lost device and allow browsing of purchases on multiple platforms. Existing pocketmags users can retrieve their purchases by logging into their account. We recommend loading the app for the first time in a wi-fi area so that all issue data is retrieved. If your app will not load past the splash page after a first install or an update, please delete and reinstall the app from the App Store Help and frequently asked questions can be accessed in-app and on pocketmags. If you have any problems at all please do not hesitate to contact us: help@pocketmags.com -------------------- You can find our privacy policy here: http://www.pocketmags.com/privacy.aspx You can find our terms and conditions here: http://www.pocketmags.com/terms.aspx

Screenshots

The National4 screens
iPhone User4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: The National at every 5 months against iPhone User's every 30 months. iPhone User's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. The National sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.49 per 7 days and iPhone User sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The National ships an update every 5 months, iPhone User every 30 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 6 level
The National versus iPhone User: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe NationaliPhone User
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews21.4% of reviewsβ€”
Update frequencyEvery 5 months β€” betterEvery 30 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionβ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size138 MB43 MB
Age rating+174+
DeveloperNewsquestPapercut

In-app purchases

9 purchases

The National

Subscriptions9
  • Weekly Subscription$4.497 Days
  • Weekly Subscription$4.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscription$14.491 Month
Show 6 more
  • Monthly Subscription$16.991 Month
  • Quarterly Subscription$40.993 Months
  • Quarterly Subscription$46.993 Months
  • 6 Month Subscription$76.996 Months
  • 6 Month Subscription$89.996 Months
  • Annual Subscription2 variants$129.991 Year
16 purchases

iPhone User

Subscriptions1
  • iPhone User$9.991 Year
One-time15
  • Spring 2026 (pp:1144118)$3.99
  • Summer 2026 (pp:1145430)$3.99
  • Winter 2025 (pp:1139418)$3.99
Show 12 more
  • iPhoneTricks_T... (pp:1000160)$3.99
  • Summer 2024 (pp:1051157)$3.99
  • Winter 2024 (pp:1051151)$3.99
  • Spring 2024 (pp:1051160)$3.99
  • Autumn 2024 (pp:1051154)$3.99
  • The iOS 18 Manual (pp:1121642)$5.99
  • The iPhone 16 ... (pp:1121641)$5.99
  • The iOS 15 iPh... (pp:1000163)$5.99
  • The iPhone 15 ... (pp:1003334)$5.99
  • The iOS 17 Manual (pp:1003331)$5.99
  • iPhoneSeniors_... (pp:1000157)$7.99
  • CompAppleWatch... (pp:1000151)$7.99

Questions

Is The National free?
The National is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iPhone User free?
iPhone User is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do The National or iPhone User have ads?
Neither The National nor iPhone User shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The National or iPhone User?
The National ships an update every 5 months, and iPhone User every 30 months. Most recently, The National was updated on October 26, 2026 and iPhone User on October 25, 2026.

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