App Screenshot Index · News
What the top 98 News apps put on their screenshots.
517 screenshots, read and tagged by what each one does. 84% carry a headline. Pick a tactic to see who does it, or describe what you are looking for.
US App Store, top free, read on 2026-10-09. Screenshots are the developers’ own, shown from Apple’s servers with a link to each app.
Compare with another category Changed this month Browse by tactic The data, across every category
Browse News screenshots by tactic.
Each tactic has its own page: the share of the top 98 News apps that use it, every example with its headline, and which of the top ten do it. The number beside each is the share of apps.
Meaning
- Plain tone86%
- Leads with a feature81%
- States a benefit71%
- Urgent tone33%
- Subline explains the headline31%
- Asks for an action24%
- Subline adds a second benefit16%
- Premium tone15%
- Names its audience12%
- Compares with something9%
- Leads with what is new8%
- Playful tone8%
- Leads with trust7%
- Leads with an outcome4%
- Leads with a problem3%
- Technical tone2%
- Leads with price1%
- Leads with who it is for1%
Words
- Has a headline86%
- Tells you to do something72%
- Headline under five words65%
- Says “you” or “your”57%
- Has a subline45%
- No words at all30%
- Names the app24%
- Headline in Title Case22%
- Uses a number21%
- Headline on one line20%
- Headline in capitals19%
- Headline over eight words15%
- Has a kicker13%
- Says “I” or “my”13%
- Names another app2%
- Asks a question1%
- Exclaims1%
- Uses a percentage1%
- Uses an emoji1%
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%
- No app screen at all8%
- Watch, iPad or Mac beside it6%
- Words over the screen6%
Look
- Black, white or grey60%
- Light58%
- Background is the icon’s colour56%
- Solid background54%
- Gradient background53%
- Blue50%
- Dark50%
- A word in a different colour43%
- High contrast words34%
- Low contrast words26%
- Orange18%
- The app itself is the background18%
- Serif headline16%
- Pattern or texture14%
- Photo background14%
- Red13%
- Teal9%
- Green7%
- Rounded headline type7%
- Yellow5%
- Purple4%
- Pink3%
- Condensed or display type1%
Proof
Your app against this.
Find your app and its first three screenshots are read the same way: what it shares with News, what it does that few do, and what most do that it does not.