News app screenshots with photography

The numbers

310 of the 517 News screenshots read (60%) do this, across 87 of the top 98 apps (89%). 9 of the top ten do it (90%), against 78 of the other 88 (89%): the top ten do it about as often as the rest. Of the 23 categories read so far, News is 6th for this. It is most common in Food & Drink (100% of apps) and least common in Games (24%).

12 examples from the chart.

12 of the 310 News app screenshots with photography, one from each app, the highest on the chart first.

All 310 on the wall

What these screenshots say, word for word.

The words on 40 of the 273 that carry any, as each app wrote them.

• “Be the first to know.”X · #1 · screenshot 1
• “The heart of the internet”Reddit · #2 · screenshot 1
• Public-safety dispatch audio. Not an official report.“Listen to First- Responder Audio”CrimeRadar Dispatch Audio · #3 · screenshot 2
• “Read, watch, chat”Substack · #4 · screenshot 1
• “Join over 100 million neighbors”in 345,000 neighborhoodsNextdoor: Neighborhood Network · #5 · screenshot 1
• “Local News, Alerts, Headlines & More.”NewsBreak: Local News & Alerts · #6 · screenshot 2
• “Get lifesaving, real-time alerts”Citizen: Safety & Live Video · #7 · screenshot 1
• “The app for every today.”NYTimes: US and Global News · #9 · screenshot 1
• “Compare how multiple sources are covering the same story”Ground News · #10 · screenshot 2
• “What's happening in your world?”Fizz: Your Authentic Community · #11 · screenshot 1
• “Walkie Talkie”Push to talkPolice Scanner: Fire Radio · #14 · screenshot 1
• “Watch LIVE local news & top stores”FOX LOCAL: Live News & Weather · #15 · screenshot 1
• “Follow the Biggest Investors and CEOs”See every move whale traders makeStocks.News－Market Alerts · #16 · screenshot 4
• “Breaking News”Stay connected to the stories that matter.The Wall Street Journal News · #18 · screenshot 1
• “AMERICA IS BACK”The White House · #19 · screenshot 1
• “Join 1.5 million Christians already trusting our news”The Pour Over · #20 · screenshot 1
• “Choose maps”based on your style preference and needsAwareCA · #21 · screenshot 2
• “Millions of people making neighborhoods safer, together.”Neighbors by Ring · #22 · screenshot 1
• “Hear the top stories of the day, curated by NPR”NPR: National & Local News · #23 · screenshot 1
• “Breaking News & Top Stories”Stay informed with timely push notifications.SmartNews: Breaking News · #24 · screenshot 3
• “World leading journalism all in one place.”BBC: World News & Stories · #25 · screenshot 1
• “Monitor Wildfires, Prescribed Burns, and Flooding”Watch Duty: Wildfire & Floods · #26 · screenshot 1
• “Get local news from your community”Google News · #27 · screenshot 2
• “groups for every interest”Clubhouse · #28 · screenshot 2
• Castbox“50 MILLION+ FREE PODCASTS”Up-to-date ContentPodcast App & Player - Castbox · #29 · screenshot 1
• “Discover Top Stories and In-Depth Coverage”FOX News: US & World Headlines · #31 · screenshot 1
• “The Associated Press”Advancing the Power of FactsAP News · #33 · screenshot 1
• “Stream the world's biggest stories”CNN: Live & Breaking News · #34 · screenshot 1
• “Search for specific episodes within a show”Podcast App · #35 · screenshot 5
• “Reuters Pure news. From the source.”Reuters - Breaking World News · #36 · screenshot 1
• “Read high-quality answers on your custom feed”Quora · #37 · screenshot 1
• “Unlimited Access”All of our journalism, on any deviceThe Atlantic Magazine · #41 · screenshot 3
• “Watch Newsmax Live”Newsmax · #42 · screenshot 2
• “Get breaking local and national news”WEAR ABC 3 News · #43 · screenshot 2
• “Stream live & on-demand”Bloomberg: Business News Daily · #44 · screenshot 3
• “Go beyond breaking news in minutes.”The Economist: News & Analysis · #45 · screenshot 1
• “Explore the world of true crime”TrueShort - Stream True Crime · #46 · screenshot 1
• Welcome to“DAILYWIRE”Daily Wire · #47 · screenshot 1
• “GIAO DIỆN MỚI TỐI ƯU TRẢI NGHIỆM”CẬP NHẬT TIN TỨC MỚI DỄ DÀNG - NHANH CHÓNGThanh niên Việt Nam · #48 · screenshot 1
• OWN THE EXPERIENCE“MAKE WIRED YOURS”WIRED · #49 · screenshot 2

Top ten News apps that do it.

1. #1X5 of its 6 screenshots
2. #2Reddit5 of its 6 screenshots
3. #3CrimeRadar Dispatch Audio1 of its 4 screenshots
4. #4Substack5 of its 6 screenshots
5. #5Nextdoor: Neighborhood Network6 of its 6 screenshots
6. #6NewsBreak: Local News & Alerts4 of its 6 screenshots
7. #7Citizen: Safety & Live Video4 of its 6 screenshots
8. #9NYTimes: US and Global News5 of its 6 screenshots
9. #10Ground News3 of its 6 screenshots

The same tactic in other categories.

A photograph, across all categories

Related tactics.

Often on the same screenshot

• A person in the picture48% of these screenshots, against 30% of all News screenshots
• Photo background14% of these screenshots, against 9% of all News screenshots
• Headline in capitals18% of these screenshots, against 14% of all News screenshots
• Headline under five words43% of these screenshots, against 38% of all News screenshots
• Has a headline88% of these screenshots, against 84% of all News screenshots
• Solid background43% of these screenshots, against 39% of all News screenshots

More in layout

• Screen fills the picture99%
• Phone drawn94%
• Whole phone shown90%
• 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%
• No app screen at all8%
• Watch, iPad or Mac beside it6%
• Words over the screen6%

Questions, answered from the chart.