Comparison

Black vs KBLA Talk 1580

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

Head to head
About

Black

Discover news and stories from influential voices in Black culture. Curate your personal feed, share content with friends, and receive timely updates. Explore content tailored to your interests from top publications.

Highlights
  • Personalized news feed
  • Story recommendations
  • Share stories with friends
  • Push notifications
  • Explore by interest
  • Curated publications
Features
Read full description

Black® collects the news & stories from the world’s greatest influencers of black culture. With all of your black news in one place, it has never been easier to discover the stories that keep you informed, engaged, and inspired. JOIN US ON OUR MISSION TO CHANGE THE GAME. - Create your own feed of stories from the publications you know and trust. - Read, recommend, and share stories with your friends using Facebook, Twitter, iMessage, and Email. - Explore stories that are just for you and based on your interests. - Receive timely push notifications that will keep you in the know. Featured Publications: - The Root - Atlanta Black Star - OkayAfrica - News One - Blavity - BET - Black Enterprise - Ebony - Essence - HuffPost Black Voices - Hello Beautiful - and more! We'd love to hear any feedback you have about Black®. Reach out to our team at team@black.news. Oh, did we mention that we're 100% Black Owned?

About

KBLA Talk 1580

This progressive talk radio app offers an enlightening and empowering platform for listeners, particularly African Americans and people of color. It provides a safe space for dialogue, community building, and sharing diverse perspectives 24/7.

Highlights
  • Progressive talk radio
  • Enlightening content
  • Empowering platform
  • Community dialogue
  • Listener-focused
  • 24/7 access
Features
Read full description

ENLIGHTENS – We are engagement radio, not outrage radio. Our station fosters an enlightening, sustainable, and restorative language that challenges listeners to reexamine the assumptions they hold, and expand their inventory of ideas. We are unapologetically progressive, but we prefer good ideas over ideology. Our guests and listeners share the wisdom of a lived experience that serves to enlighten others. Because our audience is so diverse, each day is like a live town hall meeting over the airwaves. If you want to know what the citizenry is really thinking, meet us in the public square at KBLA Talk 1580. The KBLA App is in your hands wherever you go; it’s easy to use and best of all it’s FREE! EMPOWERS – We are a progressive radio station uniquely, specifically, and unapologetically geared towards African Americans and other listeners of color; soon to be the majority in America. What can a Blues nation learn from a Blues people? This season of political polarization and racial reckoning has made dramatically clear the deepening political, social, cultural and economic divide across America. Black folks and other people of color have always been the conscience of this country. Now, more than ever, the nation would do well to hear the voices of those who have learned to love America in spite of, not because of; fellow citizens who have never given up on this democratic experience. ENCOURAGES – We provide a platform, 24/7, for folk to express their fears and frustrations, as well as their hopes and aspirations. Fellow citizens need a safe space where they feel comfortable expressing themselves. A space where their views will not be disparaged, dismissed, or demeaned. A station where the hosts look like you, live near you, and value what you value. Our station aims to take more listener phone calls than any other talk station serving the Southern California region. We believe in dialogue, not monologue. We believe that what comes from the heart, reaches the heart. When one listener hears another listener boldly share feelings and concerns similar to their own, that’s what we call making connection; that’s what we call building community.

Screenshots

Black4 screens
KBLA Talk 15804 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Black at none against KBLA Talk 1580's shown. Black also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 7 months) and ratings volume (675 vs 36). KBLA Talk 1580's advantage is review sentiment (78% vs 67%). On price, rating, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Black holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Black has 675 ratings behind it against 36, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Black's written reviews are positive against 78% of KBLA Talk 1580's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Black ships an update fortnightly, KBLA Talk 1580 every 7 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Black versus KBLA Talk 1580: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlackKBLA Talk 1580
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (675 ratings) — better4.6 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews67.3% of reviews77.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings675 — better36
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB55 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperLangston, LLCSmiley Radio Properties

Customer experience

Black

All ratings675 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive67.3%
Neutral9.6%
Negative23.1%

KBLA Talk 1580

All ratings35 ratings
Positive88.6%
Neutral5.7%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%

Bugs and requests

Black

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen not functioning properly
  • Inconsistent article loading and display
  • Notifications not always triggering as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • Customizable notification settings
  • Reader mode for easier article reading
  • Social sharing and discussion features
  • Dedicated sections for specific topics (e.g., finance, entertainment)

KBLA Talk 1580

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Black

No in-app purchases

None

KBLA Talk 1580

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Black free?
Black is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is KBLA Talk 1580 free?
KBLA Talk 1580 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Black or KBLA Talk 1580?
Black is rated higher. Black averages 4.7 out of 5 from 675 ratings, while KBLA Talk 1580 averages 4.6 from 36 ratings.
Do Black or KBLA Talk 1580 have ads?
KBLA Talk 1580 shows ads; Black does not.
Which is updated more often, Black or KBLA Talk 1580?
Black ships an update fortnightly, and KBLA Talk 1580 every 7 months. Most recently, Black was updated on November 3, 2026 and KBLA Talk 1580 on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons