OzarksFirst vs Black
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OzarksFirst
Get the latest local news, weather, and sports updates for the Ozarks region. Access top stories from daily broadcasts and real-time developing news. Stay informed with detailed forecasts, severe weather alerts, and interactive radar maps.
- Top local news stories
- Real-time developing news
- Detailed weather reports
- Severe weather alerts
- Interactive radar map
- Breaking news alerts
- Save stories for later
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News has never been more local than in the palm of your hand. The KOZL KOLR mobile app brings you all the top stories from our daily broadcasts, as well as stories developing in real time. News, weather, and sports from KOLR10 and Ozarksfirst.com. Your source for local news, weather forecast, sports, videos in the Springfield-Branson area and the entire Ozarks region. Covering southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas since 1953. Your source for news in the Ozarks. Please send us comments or questions. FEATURES: • Watch video of your trusted reporters on the scene, and read revealing articles on what's going on in your community. • Plan your day and week with detailed weather reports, live alerts of severe conditions, and an interactive radar map. • Optional alerts on breaking news keep you in the know. • On the go? Save stories for later to access at your convenience.
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.
- Personalized news feed
- Story recommendations
- Share stories with friends
- Push notifications
- Explore by interest
- Curated publications
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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?
Screenshots
Verdict
OzarksFirst and Black both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 67% of Black's written reviews are positive against 26% of OzarksFirst's. Black also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). OzarksFirst's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, ratings volume 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.
Black holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.1K and 675 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of OzarksFirst's written reviews are positive against 67% of Black's.
OzarksFirst ships an update every 6 weeks, Black fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OzarksFirst | Black |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.1K ratings) | 4.7 (675 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.1% of reviews | 67.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 675 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 94 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nexstar Broadcasting | Langston, LLC |
Customer experience
OzarksFirst
Black
User reviews
OzarksFirst
From 1.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Good local news coverage
- 🌟 Informative and up-to-date
- ⭐ Excellent local weather app
Room to improve
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find content
- 💤 Older full newscasts not available
- 🚨 Excessive and intrusive ads
- 🐌 Slow and unreliable performance
- 🔍 Small font size makes content hard to read
Black
From 675 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐ Excellent app for news about the black community
- 🌟 Informative and inspirational content
- 👍 Clean and user-friendly design
- 💯 Promotes black unity and excellence
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional app crashes and freezes
- ⏱️ Slow loading times and content refreshing issues
- 💸 Too many ads and pop-ups
- 🤖 Compatibility issues with older devices
Bugs and requests
OzarksFirst
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes on launch after recent update
- Weather radar and live stream features not working
- Notifications not working as expected
Requested features
3 requests- History archive with past newscasts
- Improved navigation and content organization
- Reduced ad frequency and less intrusive ad placement
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)
In-app purchases
OzarksFirst
No in-app purchases
Black
No in-app purchases
