Focus Taiwan vs TaiwanPlus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Focus Taiwan
Access comprehensive English-language news about Taiwan, covering breaking events, politics, business, technology, sports, and culture. Enjoy multimedia content with audio and video news playlists, and personalize your reading experience with adjustable font sizes and layouts. Save articles and videos for later with the 'My Stories' feature.
- Breaking news coverage
- Politics, business, tech, sports, culture news
- Audio and video news playlists
- Bookmark articles and videos
- Adjustable font size and layout
- Swipe navigation for categories
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Focus Taiwan’s free news app is the top source of English-language coverage of all things Taiwan, from breaking news to politics, business, technology, sports, culture and much more. The updated app maintains a similar look to the Focus Taiwan website, but also has a "Media" section, which includes a playlist of the latest 30 news stories in audio and video formats. In addition to scrolling up and down to read articles and lists of news headlines, mobile device users can also swipe right or left to browse different news categories and articles. The updated app allows users to bookmark articles and videos in the new "My Stories" feature which can be found in the "Menu" section. Users will be able to choose the font size and layout of the page to suit their reading habits from the "Menu" section and are welcome to leave reviews or contact Focus Taiwan with feedback. Focus Taiwan would like to hear from you! Send us your feedback at app_feature@cna.com.tw and help shape our future updates.
TaiwanPlus
Access trusted English-language news, documentaries, and cultural programs from Taiwan. Explore global updates, in-depth stories, interviews, and lifestyle content. Enjoy high-quality, ad-free video streaming.
- Daily global news updates
- Award-winning documentaries
- Original TV programs
- Cultural stories
- Exclusive interviews
- Travel, lifestyle, food, and entertainment shows
- Ad-free video streaming
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TaiwanPlus is your official source for all things Taiwan – delivering trusted news, award-winning documentaries, original TV programs, and cultural stories, all in English. Key Features: ． Daily global news updates, produced in Taiwan ． In-depth documentaries and feature stories ． Exclusive interviews with thought leaders and creators ． Travel, lifestyle, food, and entertainment shows ． High-quality video streaming – ad-free From the heart of Asia to wherever you are in the world, TaiwanPlus brings Taiwan to your screen. Download now and start streaming for free.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: TaiwanPlus at none against Focus Taiwan's shown. TaiwanPlus also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Focus Taiwan's advantage is ratings volume (284 vs 93). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Focus Taiwan against 4.8 for TaiwanPlus. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 284 and 93 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of Focus Taiwan's written reviews are positive against 67% of TaiwanPlus's.
Focus Taiwan ships an update every 4 months, TaiwanPlus monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Focus Taiwan | TaiwanPlus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (284 ratings) | 4.8 (93 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.7% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 284 — better | 93 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Central News Agency | com.pts.ptsnews |
Customer experience
Focus Taiwan
TaiwanPlus
Bugs and requests
Focus Taiwan
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
TaiwanPlus
Reported bugs
5 issues- App requires update to iOS 16 which is not possible on older iPhones
- Weather setting resets to Taipei
- App not compatible with Chromecast
- App support email is blocked
- App stays in portrait mode on iPad
Requested features
8 requests- Apple TV app
- Closed captions/subtitles
- Fix weather defaulting to Taipei
- Add videos to playlists
- Save/bookmark videos
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- iPad landscape mode for browsing
- Chromecast compatibility
- Improve app support responsiveness
In-app purchases
Focus Taiwan
No in-app purchases
TaiwanPlus
No in-app purchases
