Phys.org vs 9to5Mac
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Phys.org
Stay updated with daily science and technology news across various fields like physics, space, biology, and engineering. Bookmark and share articles easily. Access a selection of spotlight stories for free, with an option to subscribe for unlimited content.
- Daily science and technology news
- Covers physics, space, biology, engineering, and more
- Bookmark favorite stories
- Share articles
- Ads-free experience
- Free spotlight stories
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Daily spotlight science and technology news stories from Phys.org. This includes stories in the fields of physics, nanotechnology, electronics, space and earth sciences, biology, chemistry, computer sciences, engineering, mathematics, etc. Readers may bookmark and share favorite stories from the app. The Phys.org app is ads-free. Free app content is limited to selected spotlight stories. Access to Phys.org's full content is available with the monthly subscription plan for just $0.99. Your first subscription week is free. Monthly subscription options: - Unlimited digital access on any device for $0.99 per month. You will be charged in your local currency at the prevailing exchange rate as defined by App Store. - The app offers 7 days trial. At the end of the free trial period, the full price of the subscription will be charged thereafter. Cancellations must occur 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Privacy policy can be found at http://sciencex.com/help/privacy/ Terms of use: https://sciencex.com/help/terms/ Feedback and comments: https://sciencex.com/help/feedback/
9to5Mac
Stay informed with the latest news for Apple devices and other tech. Enjoy an ad-free reading experience with a clean layout and push notifications for breaking stories. An optional premium subscription offers enhanced features.
- Latest Apple news
- Ad-free reading
- Push notifications
- Dark Theme
- Optimized layout
- Access to network sites
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9to5Mac is the leading news website for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more. The 9to5Mac app offers an ad-free way to stay up to date with the latest Apple news, along with connecting you to the full network of 9to5 sites. View the latest stories from 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, Electrek, and more in a layout optimized for the iPhone and iPad with large photography. Take advantage of the Dark Theme for comfortable reading at any time of day. Get push notifications for instant alerts when a new post goes live so you can always stay up to date with the latest stories. The 9to5Mac app is a beautiful companion to the website experience. Give us your feedback and look forward to more updates coming in the future. Upgrade to the Premium Subscription to read stories in the app with an ad-free, privacy-respecting native reading experience. Premium costs $1.99 per month in the US. The subscription automatically renews — but you can cancel at any time.* 9to5Mac Premium is subject to the standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ See Privacy and Additional Terms: https://9to5mac.com/privacy/ *Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within a 24-hour prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: 9to5Mac at 4.7 against Phys.org's 2.8. 9to5Mac also leads on ratings volume (4.8K vs 70) and review sentiment (41% vs 18%). Phys.org's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Phys.org sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month and 9to5Mac sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
9to5Mac holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 9to5Mac has 4.8K ratings behind it against 70, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 18% of Phys.org's written reviews are positive against 41% of 9to5Mac's.
Phys.org ships an update every 5 weeks, 9to5Mac every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.
| Parameter | Phys.org | 9to5Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.8 (70 ratings) | 4.7 (4.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 18.5% of reviews | 40.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 70 | 4.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Omicron Tech Ltd | Seth Weintraub |
Customer experience
Phys.org
9to5Mac
User reviews
Phys.org
From 70 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great content source
- 👍 Informative articles
- 👍 Smooth experience (sometimes)
- 👍 No ads (in some contexts)
- 👍 Well-formatted content
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes when accessing saved articles
- 🐛 App crashes on startup
- 🐛 Unreadable text/links in dark mode
- 🐛 Flickering articles
- 🐛 Login issues
9to5Mac
From 4.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Informative content
- 📱 Great app for Apple news
- 🌓 Useful dark mode
- 👍 Modern design
Room to improve
- 🔒 Paywall restricts access
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- ⏱️ Slow content loading
- 💸 Expensive subscription
- 🔍 Lack of search functionality
Bugs and requests
Phys.org
Reported bugs
14 issues- App crashes when trying to view saved articles
- App crashes on startup
- App crashes after iOS updates
- Login issues
- Subscription not working
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Blank screen for content
- Flickering articles
- SSL errors
- Favorites bug (crashes when accessing)
- Tech feed not working
- Dark blue hyperlinks unreadable in dark mode
- Side swipe gesture reloads article
- Orientation change reloads article and loses scroll position
- No data connection error
Requested features
10 requests- Add search functionality
- Sync ScienceX account for saved articles
- Improve dark mode readability
- Add Stage Manager support for iPadOS
- Add Apple Watch compatibility
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Consolidate updates into an 'All' tab
- Allow offline reading of more than a few articles
- Add audio narration or video summaries
- Allow toggling light/dark mode independently of OS
- Filter articles by specific science subjects
9to5Mac
Reported bugs
5 issues- Subscription issues
- Inconsistent dark mode support
- Unreliable push notifications
- Crashes when opening articles
- Broken Disqus login functionality
Requested features
7 requests- Dark mode icon support
- Improved notifications
- In-app commenting
- Yearly subscription option
- Faster content updates
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Accessibility improvements
- Seamless integration with other 9to5 sites
In-app purchases
Phys.org
- All access$0.991 Month
9to5Mac
- Premium Subscription7 Days trial$1.991 Month









