# Mechanical Engineering Mag vs New Scientist

The clearest difference is rating: New Scientist at 4.8 against Mechanical Engineering Mag's 3.5. New Scientist also leads on ratings volume (5.6K vs 6) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). Mechanical Engineering Mag's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (10.2 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. New Scientist sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Mechanical Engineering Mag asks for nothing beyond the download.

New Scientist holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: New Scientist has 5.6K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of Mechanical Engineering Mag's written reviews are positive against 69% of New Scientist's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Mechanical Engineering Mag ships an update every 7 months, New Scientist every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mechanical Engineering Mag | New Scientist |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.5 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mechanical-engineering-mag/id521147202/reviews) | **[4.8 (5.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/new-scientist/id671845403/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 6 | **5.6K** |
| Positive reviews | **71.4% of reviews** | 68.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#86** |
| Size | 22 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.2** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [ASME](https://appshunter.io/developer/521147205) | [New Scientist Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1259836343) |

## What reviewers say

### Mechanical Engineering Mag

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mechanical-engineering-mag/id521147202)

Access award-winning monthly engineering content in a digital format. Read current and past issues, with text-formatted articles optimized for mobile. Download content for offline access and search the archive.

**Highlights:** Current and past issues, Brilliant replica format, Text-formatted articles, Offline reading, Searchable archive, Bookmark articles

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### New Scientist

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/new-scientist/id671845403)

**Currently charting:** #86 Top Grossing · Magazines & Newspapers, #118 Top Grossing · News, #129 Top Free · Magazines & Newspapers (US App Store)

Access award-winning journalism on science and technology. Read daily news, watch videos, and listen to podcasts covering topics from AI to quantum physics. Log in with your subscription for full access.

**Highlights:** Daily news updates, Latest issue access, Science videos, Weekly podcast, Audio articles

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Month Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| 3 Month Subscription | $49.99 | per 3 months |
| 1 Year Subscription | $99.99 | per year |
| 12 Month Subscription | $179.99 | per year |
| August 30 2014 | $1.99 | one-time |
| October 04 2014 | $1.99 | one-time |
| July 16 2016 | $1.99 | one-time |
| September 03 2016 | $1.99 | one-time |
| October 01 2016 | $1.99 | one-time |
| November 19 2016 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Essential Guide 10 | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Fascinating and informative content
- 🚀 Accessible and easy to read
- 🤓 Covers a wide range of scientific topics
- 📚 Valuable source of up-to-date science news

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy app with login and subscription issues
- 🔒 Difficult to manage subscriptions and access content
- 💰 Expensive subscription fees
- 🙄 Forced subscription model and lack of transparency

**Reported bugs**

- App fails to recognize active subscriptions
- Downloading and accessing content is unreliable
- Frequent crashes and performance issues
- Inconsistent user experience across platforms

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode option
- Improve navigation and ability to resume reading
- Implement better syncing and cross-device access
- Provide more customization options for text size and font


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mechanical Engineering Mag free?

Mechanical Engineering Mag is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is New Scientist free?

New Scientist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Mechanical Engineering Mag or New Scientist?

New Scientist is rated higher. Mechanical Engineering Mag averages 3.5 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while New Scientist averages 4.8 from 5.6K ratings.

### Do Mechanical Engineering Mag or New Scientist have ads?

Neither Mechanical Engineering Mag nor New Scientist shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Mechanical Engineering Mag or New Scientist?

Mechanical Engineering Mag ships an update every 7 months, and New Scientist every 2 months. Most recently, Mechanical Engineering Mag was updated on October 8, 2026 and New Scientist on October 21, 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.*