News app screenshots with no app screen
A photo, a logo or a slogan: the app’s screen does not appear. These sell an idea, a promise or a brand before showing any interface. Apple’s App Review Guideline 2.3.3 says screenshots should show the app in use, and not only title art, a login page or a splash screen.
From the top 98 free News apps on the US App Store, read on October 9, 2026. Screenshots are the developers’ own, shown from Apple’s servers with a link to each app.
The numbers
Apps that do it
8% 8 of 98
Screenshots that do it
2% 9 of 517
The top ten
0 of 10 against 8 of the other 88
9 of the 517 News screenshots read (2%) do this, across 8 of the top 98 apps (8%). 0 of the top ten do it (0%), against 8 of the other 88 (9%): the top ten do it about as often as the rest. Of the 23 categories read so far, News is 21st for this. It is most common in Education (29% of apps) and least common in Weather (4%).
All 9 examples from the chart.
Every one of the News app screenshots with no app screen on the chart, the highest app first.
“Find calm in the chaos”
“Explore Your Favorite Topics”
“Context changes everything.”
“The world's leading global business publication”
“Stories Told By Your Favorite Stars”
“2000+ MOVIES”
“NO SWIPES → GO INSTANT CHAT”
“Award-winning journalism الصحافة الحائزة على جوائز”
“Anonymous discussions”
What these screenshots say, word for word.
The words on all 9 that carry any, as each app wrote them.
“Find calm in the chaos”
“The Pour Over is the only news source I need to stay smart, but focus on Christ” || “Relieved to read simple and clean news with a Christian perspective” || “Trims down the endless information of news into bite-sized stories without trying to sell me on a polical agenda”The Pour Over · #20 · screenshot 2“Explore Your Favorite Topics”
FOX News: US & World Headlines · #31 · screenshot 3“Context changes everything.”
Bloomberg: Business News Daily · #44 · screenshot 1“The world's leading global business publication”
Financial Times: Business News · #64 · screenshot 1“Stories Told By Your Favorite Stars”
Fox Nation · #77 · screenshot 3“2000+ MOVIES”
BLOCKBUSTERS ON-DEMAND LIVE STREAMFREECABLE TV: News & TV Shows · #82 · screenshot 3“NO SWIPES → GO INSTANT CHAT”
Kiki: Local Chat & People Near · #88 · screenshot 1“Award-winning journalism الصحافة الحائزة على جوائز”
Al Jazeera - الجزيرة · #97 · screenshot 6“Anonymous discussions”
and more...Kiki: Local Chat & People Near · #88 · screenshot 6
Top ten News apps that do it.
None of the top ten do. The highest app on the chart that does is The Pour Over, at #20.
The same tactic in other categories.
| Category | Apps that do it | Screenshots | Top ten |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 29% 29 of 100 | 7% 37 of 555 | 1 of 10 |
| Finance | 27% 27 of 100 | 6% 33 of 581 | 3 of 10 |
| Sports | 26% 26 of 100 | 5% 27 of 558 | 7 of 10 |
| Food & Drink | 25% 25 of 100 | 5% 29 of 540 | 5 of 10 |
| Productivity | 23% 23 of 99 | 5% 26 of 551 | 1 of 10 |
| Lifestyle | 23% 23 of 100 | 5% 27 of 556 | 4 of 10 |
| Shopping | 23% 23 of 100 | 5% 28 of 562 | 3 of 10 |
| Health & Fitness | 21% 21 of 100 | 4% 23 of 574 | 4 of 10 |
| Medical | 21% 21 of 100 | 5% 25 of 548 | 1 of 10 |
| Reference | 21% 21 of 100 | 4% 25 of 566 | 2 of 10 |
| Utilities | 21% 21 of 100 | 4% 24 of 549 | 2 of 10 |
| Games | 20% 20 of 100 | 4% 22 of 567 | 2 of 10 |
| Graphics & Design | 19% 19 of 99 | 4% 24 of 564 | 1 of 10 |
| Business | 18% 18 of 100 | 4% 23 of 554 | 1 of 10 |
| Music | 16% 16 of 100 | 3% 18 of 550 | 1 of 10 |
| Social Networking | 16% 16 of 100 | 3% 17 of 554 | 0 of 10 |
| Travel | 15% 15 of 100 | 3% 18 of 561 | 2 of 10 |
| Navigation | 12% 12 of 99 | 2% 13 of 566 | 0 of 10 |
| Entertainment | 11% 11 of 100 | 3% 15 of 544 | 2 of 10 |
| Photo & Video | 10% 10 of 100 | 2% 12 of 566 | 0 of 10 |
| News | 8% 8 of 98 | 2% 9 of 517 | 0 of 10 |
| Developer Tools | 7% 7 of 100 | 1% 7 of 507 | 0 of 10 |
| Weather | 4% 4 of 100 | 1% 5 of 555 | 1 of 10 |
Related tactics.
Often on the same screenshot
- Words aligned left56% of these screenshots, against 10% of all News screenshots
- Words over the screen44% of these screenshots, against 2% of all News screenshots
- Ranking claim33% of these screenshots, against 7% of all News screenshots
- Orange33% of these screenshots, against 9% of all News screenshots
- Dark56% of these screenshots, against 34% of all News screenshots
- Gradient background56% of these screenshots, against 38% of all News screenshots
More in layout
- Screen fills the picture99%
- Phone drawn94%
- Whole phone shown90%
- A photograph89%
- Words at the top83%
- A person in the picture67%
- Headline readable at thumbnail size61%
- Illustration or mascot60%
- App icon shown52%
- Phone cut off at the foot41%
- Headline too small to read38%
- No phone, bare screen35%
- Arrows or callouts23%
- Words aligned left23%
- Two or more screens21%
- Phone cut off at the head16%
- Screen is small15%
- Phone at an angle13%
- Zoomed detail of the UI13%
- Words at the bottom11%
- A hand holds the phone8%
- Watch, iPad or Mac beside it6%
- Words over the screen6%
Questions, answered from the chart.
How many top News apps have App Store screenshots with no app screen?
8 of the top 98 News apps (8%) have at least one, and 9 of their 517 screenshots (2%) do it. Counted from the US App Store’s top free chart on October 9, 2026.
Which News apps have App Store screenshots with no app screen?
None of the top ten do. The highest on the chart: The Pour Over (#20), FOX News: US & World Headlines (#31), Bloomberg: Business News Daily (#44), Financial Times: Business News (#64) and Fox Nation (#77), and 3 more.
Should my News app have App Store screenshots with no app screen?
The chart shows who does it, not whether it would work for your app. 0 of the top ten News apps do it (0%), against 8 of the other 88 (9%), so the top ten do it about as often as the rest. Ten apps is a small group, so read that as a description of this chart and not as a rule.
See your own app against this.
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