# 南方周末 vs 掌上钢之家HD

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: 掌上钢之家HD at none against 南方周末's 17. 掌上钢之家HD also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). 南方周末's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. 南方周末 sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. 掌上钢之家HD asks for nothing beyond the download.

南方周末 ships an update every 3 weeks, 掌上钢之家HD every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | 南方周末 | 掌上钢之家HD |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[2.5 (32 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id333953812/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **32** | — |
| Positive reviews | 74.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | — |
| Size | 263 MB | 20 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **9.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPad |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Guangdong Southern Weekly New Media Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/333953815) | [上海钢之家电子商务股份有限公司](https://appshunter.io/developer/506297198) |

## What reviewers say

### 南方周末

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id333953812)

Access in-depth news, opinion pieces, and cultural content from a trusted Chinese media outlet. Enjoy enhanced reading and listening experiences with original reporting, historical archives, and curated humanistic courses.

**Highlights:** In-depth news reporting, Original articles and opinion pieces, Audio playback of content, Humanistic courses and lectures, Historical newspaper and magazine archives, Interactive voting and discussion features

**In-app purchases (15)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 南方周末会员月订阅 | $3.99 | per month |
| 南方周末会员季订阅 | $10.99 | per 3 months |
| 南方周末会员年订阅 | $25.99 | per year |
| 打赏文章6元 | $0.99 | one-time |
| 充值南周币6元 | $0.99 | one-time |
| 充值南周币8元 | $0.99 | one-time |
| 打赏文章12元 | $1.99 | one-time |
| 充值南周币28元 | $3.99 | one-time |
| 打赏文章50元 | $6.99 | one-time |
| 充值南周币78元 | $9.99 | one-time |
| 充值南周币68元 | $9.99 | one-time |
| 充值南周币98元 | $14.99 | one-time |
| 充值南周币128元 | $19.99 | one-time |
| 充值南周币188元 | $29.99 | one-time |
| 充值南周币288元 | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 High-quality, in-depth journalism content
- 🎨 Clean, elegant, and well-designed interface
- 📱 Smooth and fluid user experience (in earlier versions)
- 🔄 Responsive customer support and quick updates
- 📖 Magazine-style layout and presentation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and instability
- ⏳ Severe lag and stuttering performance
- 🌐 Network connectivity issues and error messages
- 📺 No landscape/horizontal screen support
- 💰 Excessive ads despite paid membership

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup (especially on older devices like iPhone 3G, iPad 4)
- Content fails to load or gets stuck in loading state
- Network error messages despite normal connectivity
- Image view mode has no exit button, requires app restart
- Swipe gesture for navigation fails frequently

**Requested features**

- Landscape/horizontal screen orientation support for iPad
- Improved article navigation and back button functionality
- Better optimization for iPhone XR, XS Max, and newer devices
- Content update indicators and new content highlighting
- Article collection/bookmark feature


### 掌上钢之家HD

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hd/id535049443)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is 南方周末 free?

南方周末 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is 掌上钢之家HD free?

掌上钢之家HD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do 南方周末 or 掌上钢之家HD have ads?

Neither 南方周末 nor 掌上钢之家HD shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, 南方周末 or 掌上钢之家HD?

南方周末 ships an update every 3 weeks, and 掌上钢之家HD every 2 months. Most recently, 南方周末 was updated on October 29, 2026 and 掌上钢之家HD on October 26, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*