# The Norman Transcript vs STEM News

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: STEM News at none against The Norman Transcript's 1. STEM News also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). The Norman Transcript's advantage is iOS requirement (12.4 vs 15.1). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. The Norman Transcript sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. STEM News asks for nothing beyond the download.

The Norman Transcript ships an update every 5 months, STEM News weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Norman Transcript | STEM News |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (138 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-norman-transcript/id924947333/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **138** | — |
| Positive reviews | 80.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 37 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.4** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [CNHI LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1422875061) | [Yash Bindal](https://appshunter.io/developer/1828381566) |

## What reviewers say

### The Norman Transcript

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-norman-transcript/id924947333)

Access local news, commentary, photos, and videos from your community. Download daily editions for offline reading and stay updated with breaking news, sports, and weather.

**Highlights:** Offline reading of daily editions, Breaking news alerts, Local sports coverage, Photo and video galleries, Print edition layout view, Local weather and events, Social sharing of content

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Today's ePaper | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Newspaper style format
- ⬆️ Easy to zoom and increase font size
- 👍 Works well
- 📰 Love reading printed news
- 📰 Great app for local news

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🚫 No ad inserts (grocery ads needed)
- 🐛 Blank pages if not read in one sitting
- 🐛 Downloads with errors (50% of time)
- 🐛 Pages are fuzzy and unreadable
- ⚖️ Paper leans too much to the left

**Reported bugs**

- Blank pages if not read in one sitting
- Downloads with errors
- Pages are fuzzy and unreadable
- Bank video pops up and interrupts app incessantly
- Will not keep me logged in

**Requested features**

- Grocery ads needed
- Return to using more opinions from national news
- Wish for paper copy Monday and Tuesday
- Fix paper view snapping bug
- Fix setting not holding between app closes


### STEM News

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stem-news/id6748982713)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Norman Transcript free?

The Norman Transcript is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is STEM News free?

STEM News is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do The Norman Transcript or STEM News have ads?

The Norman Transcript shows ads; STEM News does not.

### Which is updated more often, The Norman Transcript or STEM News?

The Norman Transcript ships an update every 5 months, and STEM News weekly. Most recently, The Norman Transcript was updated on October 6, 2026 and STEM News on September 30, 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.*