Comparison

The Press vs AwareCA

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

Head to head
About

The Press

Access local news with personalized content recommendations and saved articles for later. Customize notifications and enjoy offline reading. Includes a digital replica of the daily newspaper.

Highlights
  • Personalized news recommendations
  • Saved articles for later reading
  • Customizable push notifications
  • Digital newspaper replica (Enews)
  • Offline reading capability
  • Swipe navigation between articles
  • Follow/unfollow topics
Features
Read full description

To continue enjoying our app, we kindly request that you log in again after this update. If you're a subscriber, please take a moment to restore your account to ensure uninterrupted access. You can find the “Restore Subscriptions“ button in Settings under Subscriptions. Welcome to a new app experience, we have optimized our app and giving it a facelift! This faster iOS native app now has the following new features: Your News: Provide personalized recommendations for content based on user preferences. Users will be allowed to customize the content they want to engage with by selecting the topics they are truly interested in. By going to the “Your News” tab the user can bypass the noise of all that is published and home in on the content they want Saved Articles: Save feature that allows users to save articles or other content they are interested in for later reading or reference.Push notifications will remind users to read their saved articles or suggest related content Custom Push Notifications: The user can select what topics they want to be notified about which makes for a much less intrusive experience. Top Navigation Bar: A top navigation bar lets the user switch between sections by swiping or tapping. Enews in-app: Desire the newspaper experience? No need to open a separate app! By simply going to Settings and selecting E-News the user can browse the Digital Replica of the day’s paper. Offline Reading: This feature allows users to enable offline reading from Settings. Offline “Reading Preferences” can also be customized for Settings. Swipe Left: Instead of going back to the main section to find more articles, users have the option to simply swipe, immediately opening other articles in the Section. Follow Topics: A user will be shown articles on topics they are following. To follow select “follow” at the article level and related articles will gain relevancy and be shown more frequently. Just as easily “Unfollow” Terms of Use: https://www.medianewsgroup.com/terms-of-use/ https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

AwareCA

This app provides official, agency-verified public safety information for California. It delivers real-time updates and guidance during emergencies, serving as a trusted source of truth to keep communities informed and prepared.

Highlights
  • Agency-verified public safety information
  • Real-time incident updates
  • Official guidance during emergencies
  • Authoritative source of truth
  • Replaces fragmented alerts
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

AwareCA is California’s statewide, agency-verified public safety information platform designed to keep communities informed, prepared, and protected. Built to replace fragmented alerts and unverified noise, AwareCA delivers a single, authoritative source of truth that is controlled by public safety agencies and trusted by the communities they serve. Get the information that matters in near-real-time. AwareCA helps ensure you always know where to go for the truth, with official updates and official guidance during everyday incidents and large-scale emergencies.

Screenshots

The Press4 screens
AwareCA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The Press and AwareCA both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 53% of AwareCA's written reviews are positive against 6% of The Press's. AwareCA also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Press sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. AwareCA asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Press holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 242 and 143 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 6% of The Press's written reviews are positive against 53% of AwareCA's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Press ships an update monthly, AwareCA weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
The Press versus AwareCA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe PressAwareCA
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (242 ratings) — better4.4 (143 ratings)
Positive reviews6.3% of reviews52.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings242 — better143
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#206 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size188 MB120 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperMediaNews GroupIntterra, LLC

Customer experience

The Press

All ratings242 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral2.5%
Negative6.2%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive6.3%
Neutral6.3%
Negative87.5%

AwareCA

All ratings143 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral5.6%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive52.6%
Neutral10.5%
Negative36.8%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

The Press

Subscriptions2
  • Press-Enterprise Monthly Sub$14.991 Month
  • Press-Enterprise Annual Sub1 Year trial$174.991 Year
None

AwareCA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Press free?
The Press is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AwareCA free?
AwareCA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Press or AwareCA?
The Press is rated higher. The Press averages 4.6 out of 5 from 242 ratings, while AwareCA averages 4.4 from 143 ratings.
Do The Press or AwareCA have ads?
The Press shows ads; AwareCA does not.
Which is updated more often, The Press or AwareCA?
The Press ships an update monthly, and AwareCA weekly. Most recently, The Press was updated on September 21, 2026 and AwareCA on September 23, 2026.

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