# FT Digital Edition vs The Air Current

FT Digital Edition and The Air Current both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of The Air Current's written reviews are positive against 63% of FT Digital Edition's. The Air Current also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). FT Digital Edition's advantage is ratings volume (3K vs 10). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. FT Digital Edition sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $16.99 per month. The Air Current asks for nothing beyond the download.

The Air Current holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FT Digital Edition has 3K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of FT Digital Edition's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Air Current's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | FT Digital Edition | The Air Current |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ft-digital-edition/id6449040684/reviews) | **[5.0 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-air-current/id6746278742/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3K** | 10 |
| Positive reviews | 63.4% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 47 MB | 84 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **16.5** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Financial Times Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/322310071) | [JAO Aero Media LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1816038549) |

## What reviewers say

### FT Digital Edition

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ft-digital-edition/id6449040684)

Access the daily Financial Times newspaper delivered to your device. Enjoy exclusive digital magazines, translated articles, and a decade of archives. Listen to audio versions of top stories and read offline.

**Highlights:** Daily newspaper delivered to device, Exclusive digital magazines, Translated articles in 30+ languages, Browse 10 years of previous editions, Audio versions of top stories, Download for offline reading, Global editions and classic layout

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FT Digital Edition Monthly | $16.99 | per month |
| FT Digital Edition | $45.00 | per 3 months |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Smooth, savvy, and clean interface
- 👍 Streamlined and intuitive app experience
- 👍 Excellent for offline reading
- 👍 Automatic downloads of the latest edition
- 👍 Ability to access different regional editions

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Connectivity issues, app unable to connect at times
- 🐛 Struggles with unfamiliar IP addresses when traveling
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes, especially on the cookie page
- 🐛 Counterintuitive and clunky user interface
- 🐛 Formatting issues, with text and images not rendering properly

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to log in and access the subscription
- Rendering issues with hyphens and other special characters
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between online and offline modes

**Requested features**

- Implement a full-screen mode for better reading experience
- Add a dark mode option for comfortable reading
- Improve the text-to-speech (audio) functionality to handle non-text elements better
- Introduce a search feature to easily find articles and content
- Enhance the offline reading capabilities to ensure consistent availability


### The Air Current

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-air-current/id6746278742)

Access in-depth aviation news and intelligence with a focus on technical detail and journalistic rigor. Features exclusive scoops, breaking industry news, and an AI-powered news aggregator. Aviation safety reporting is provided as a public service.

**Highlights:** In-depth aviation reporting, Exclusive scoops, Breaking industry news alerts, AI-powered news aggregator, Mobile-first reader experience, Aviation safety reporting

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is FT Digital Edition free?

FT Digital Edition is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is The Air Current free?

The Air Current is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, FT Digital Edition or The Air Current?

The Air Current is rated higher. FT Digital Edition averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while The Air Current averages 5.0 from 10 ratings.

### Do FT Digital Edition or The Air Current have ads?

Neither FT Digital Edition nor The Air Current shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, FT Digital Edition or The Air Current?

FT Digital Edition ships an update every 3 weeks, and The Air Current every 3 weeks. Most recently, FT Digital Edition was updated on October 25, 2026 and The Air Current on October 2, 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.*