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Best Tech News Apps for iPhone (2026)
Quick answer
Octal for Hacker News is the top-ranked of the 18 tiered tech news apps on iPhone, at S tier with 4.8/5 from 3,417 ratings.
Tier list
Top 5
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
★ 4.6 · 9.0K ratings · Free + IAP - 5
MIT Technology ReviewA tier★ 4.8 · 3.5K ratings · Free + IAP
Key takeaways
- Octal for Hacker News ranks #1 of the 18 tiered tech news apps, S tier with a score of 90 out of 100.
- The highest-ranked free app with no in-app purchases is TechPulse by CNET Group (#7).
- Phonegram has the most App Store ratings here: 17,350, averaging 4.6/5.
- 9 of the 18 tiered apps reach S or A tier.
What belongs in this list
Keep up with technology news, gadgets and the tech industry.
Not here: General news alone; Tech tutorials alone; Product shopping alone; Tech company stock quotes alone; A single tech site's app with no news coverage alone
How we pick
For this list we ask the App Store the same searches a person would, in several countries, and keep every app it returns. A model reads each app's listing and rejects the ones that only mention the use case. Every app that stays is scored out of 100 from four parts, each 0 to 100 and averaged: its App Store rating, how many people rated it, where the App Store itself ranks it for this list's searches, and how recently its current version shipped. An app showing Apple's Editors' Choice badge gets a fifth part of 100, which can only lift its score. Apps whose maker has verified ownership get a small score component, because an active maker is a sign the app is kept up to date. It never decides a tier on its own. Updated daily. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. Read the full method →
Compare every app
| # | App | Tier | Score | Rating | Ratings | Price | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Octal for Hacker NewsBest overall | S | 90.3 | 4.8 | 3,417 | Free + IAP | |
| 2 | Phonegram - Tech News & ToolsMost rated | A | 89.8 | 4.6 | 17,350 | Free + IAP | |
| 3 | Hacker News Tech Reader - HACKMost recently updated | A | 89.6 | 4.7 | 2,135 | Free + IAP | |
| 4 | A | 89.1 | 4.6 | 8,995 | Free + IAP | ||
| 5 | A | 87.7 | 4.8 | 3,473 | Free + IAP | ||
| 6 | A | 85.1 | 4.6 | 3,126 | Free + IAP | ||
| 7 |  TechPulse by CNET GroupBest free | A | 84.5 | 4.3 | 3,762 | Free download | |
| 8 | A | 82.9 | 4.3 | 41 | Free + IAP | ||
| 9 | A | 82.6 | 4.6 | 2,597 | Free + IAP | ||
| 10 |  Tips & Tricks Pro - for iPadprovisional | C | 67.1 | 4.7 | 2,884 | $2.99 + IAP | |
| 11 |  AI News - ThisWeek.AIprovisional | C | 61.9 | 5.0 | 6 | Free + IAP | |
| 12 |  AI News & Trendsprovisional | C | 60.6 | 4.7 | 13 | Free + IAP | |
| 13 |  AI News Radarprovisional | D | 53.8 | 4.0 | 2 | Free download | |
| 14 |  iClarifiedprovisional | D | 53.5 | 4.7 | 4,026 | Free download | |
| 15 |  Product Huntprovisional | D | 50.8 | 4.8 | 11,387 | Free download | |
| 16 |  9to5Toysprovisional | F | 41.7 | 4.8 | 1,466 | Free download | |
| 17 |  Tech News Proprovisional | F | 11.1 | n/a | 0 | $1.99 | |
| 18 |  Daily Tech Newsprovisional | F | 11.1 | n/a | 0 | Free download |
New in the last 30 days
Questions people ask
What is the best tech news app for iPhone?
Octal for Hacker News, S tier, ranked #1 of 18, rated 4.8 by 3,417 people.
Which tech news apps are free?
16 of 18 are free to download: Octal for Hacker News (S), Phonegram - Tech News & Tools (A), Hacker News Tech Reader - HACK (A), 9to5Mac - Breaking Tech News (A) and more. 10 of them sell in-app purchases. 6 report no in-app purchases.
Which tech news app has the best App Store rating?
Product Hunt at 4.8 from 11,387 ratings.
How many tech news apps reach S or A tier?
9 of 18.