The Desert Sun icon
iOS

The Desert Sun

Breaking News + eNewspaper

by Gannett

4.4(1.7K)
Downloads
<3k

Last 30 days

Revenue
$10K

Last 30 days

Rev/Download
$10

Avg per download

Rating
4.4

1.7K reviews

Performance Insights

Category rankings

GrossingMagazines & Newspapers#995

Competition level

Low competition

Under 100K on both downloads and revenue — the kind of niche a small team can still take.

Tracked since

14 years

First seen August 2012 · 74 releases since

App Summary

The Desert Sun is an iOS app (Free) by Gannett in the magazines & newspapers category, holding #99 in the magazines & newspapers grossing chart. It draws an estimated 1K downloads a month and holds a 4.4-star rating.

  • Monetizes through in-app purchases ranging from $16.99 to $69.99.
  • Ships new versions roughly quarterly.
  • Latest version is 8.10.2, released May 27, 2026.
  • 69% of ratings are five-star.
  • Available in 30 languages.
  • Strongest in US, CA, GB.
  • Downloads at 184.2 MB and requires iOS 18.6+.
  • Rated 13+.

App details

Version
8.10.2
Release status
Regional release
Age rating
13+
Requires
iOS 18.6+
Size
184.2 MB
Languages
Arabic, HY, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese
Price
Free
First seen
August 2012
Top markets
US, CA, GB
Publisher country
US

Release history

74 versions tracked

  1. Version 8.10.2Latest
  2. Version 8.10.1
  3. Version 8.9.0
  4. Version 8.8.1
  5. Version 8.8.0
  6. Version 8.6.0

Ships roughly quarterly.

In-app purchases

4 products · United States

  • The Desert Sun Digital Subscription (Monthly)Monthly$16.99
  • The Desert Sun Annual Digital SubscriptionYearly$69.99
  • Monthly Digital SubscriptionMonthly$19.99
  • Monthly Digital RateMonthly$19.99

What users say

5
69%
4
17%
3
6%
2
2%
1
5%
  • 4.0

    Unbiased

    Thank you for printing news that would otherwise would be censored in the Imperial Valley. The Imperial Valley Press never publishes information regarding how the powerful rich farmers influence our local government and businesses. These farmers often claim that the unemployment rate here would be much higher were it not for the jobs they have created and for the privilege of allowing laborers in picking their produce. In truth for many years these farmers have methodically and systematically prevented outside businesses from investing here as these, “outside interest”, will buy farmland and create better employment opportunities than the cheap labor they have been exploiting. For many years these farmers have wasted water from the Colorado River without accountability.

    Reviewed on version 8.1.0

  • 1.0

    Bring Back e-edition app

    I read the paper newspaper daily -but delivery has become unreliable. On the days when the paper isn’t delivered, I am forced to read the e-edition. Now, you have taken away the e-edition app and replaced it with this monstrosity. Single tap, double tap, articles don’t resize. Ads float down over articles and then you can’t get back to the article. Additionally, I read the e-edition in landscape mode on an iPad. The new app does not allow the double page spread to fill the screen. It is a tiny representation—almost unreadable— of the double spread centered on the screen. If your readers are opting for the e-edition rather than your other format, wouldn’t you think that they would want to read the paper as a double spread in landscape format? You complain that you are losing readers?! This app makes the paper almost unreadable. I used to look forward to reading the paper with my coffee in the morning….now reading the Desert Sun has turned into a nightmare.

    Reviewed on version 7.3.2

  • 4.0

    Best desert news media in the valley

    I love the Desert Sun. It’s very well written and informative - much better than most Coachella Valley news media. My only complaint is trying to login after I bought a subscription- it really should be quite simple, but someone has managed to make it so bad that I may not renew my subscription.

    Reviewed on version 5.23.1

About The Desert Sun

1,676 characters

From critically acclaimed storytelling to powerful photography to engaging videos — The Desert Sun app delivers the local news that matters most to your community.

APP FEATURES: • Access all of our in-depth journalism, including things to do around town, sports coverage from high school to the pros, and much more. • Enjoy a streamlined, fast-loading experience that makes it easy to view the stories, photos, and videos that matter to you. • Get breaking news, sports scores, and weather alerts with real-time notifications tailored to your interests. • Customize your experience by saving your favorite stories, adjusting text size, using night mode, or reading offline. • eNewspaper: Just like our print edition but accessible on your mobile devices. And access to USA TODAY and 200+ local eNewspapers.

MORE INFORMATION: • Privacy Policy: https://cm.desertsun.com/privacy/ • Terms of Service: https://cm.desertsun.com/terms/ • Help Center: https://help.desertsun.com • Subscriptions are charged to your account at confirmation of purchase and automatically renew each month or year, unless turned off in your account settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. See "Subscription Support" in the app's Settings for more details and customer service contact information.

Screenshots

5 iPhone screenshots
The Desert Sun iPhone screenshot 1
The Desert Sun iPhone screenshot 2
The Desert Sun iPhone screenshot 3
The Desert Sun iPhone screenshot 4
The Desert Sun iPhone screenshot 5
Frequently Asked Questions

The Desert Sun iOS app monetises through in-app purchases. The current products and price points are listed in the in-app purchases table on this page.

The Desert Sun iOS app generates an estimated monthly revenue of $10K.

The Desert Sun iOS app download estimates are updated daily. The app maintains a 4.4-star rating based on 1.7K user reviews, indicating strong user satisfaction in the magazines & newspapers market.

The Desert Sun iOS app holds position #99 in the magazines & newspapers revenue rankings. The app's performance metrics suggest significant growth potential in a low-competition segment.

You can download The Desert Sun iOS app from the App Store for iOS devices, requiring iOS 18.6 or later. The app offers in-app purchases for enhanced functionality.

View on App Store
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