Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

CBS News vs AP News

CBS News 3.7★ · Free + IAP 45
Winner AP News
AP News 4.6★ · Free to download 70

AP News is the better choice for a news app, offering more reliable performance and a broader range of content, despite some user complaints about ads and bias.

Full reviews: CBS News · AP News

AP News generally outperforms CBS News with better app stability and a wider array of news, though both apps face criticism regarding bias and intrusive advertisements. CBS News struggles with frequent crashes and missing basic features like dark mode, while AP News users report issues with ad sensitivity and notification reliability.

Head to head

Features edge: AP NewsR1R3R8R15
CBS News Users frequently request basic features like dark mode and adjustable font sizes, which are currently missing or difficult to find R1R3R8R17. Some also desire a search option and better organization of news subjects R15. The app defaults to videos, which can be inconvenient for reading .
AP News Users appreciate the app's content, but point out several feature shortcomings, including a 'Today in History' section that gets stuck and the inability to zoom into photos . Some find the layout clunky and wish for better organization of news subjects . The Apple Watch app only shows snippets, limiting its usefulness .
Ease of Use tieR4R6R10R12
CBS News Many users find the CBS News app difficult to use due to frequent freezing, buffering, and crashes R4R6R12R19. Articles often don't load fully, or the video player interferes with reading R10R12. There are also complaints about intrusive ads that cannot be shut off R6.
AP News AP News users report issues with ad sensitivity, particularly Expedia ads, which frequently open in a new browser tab when trying to scroll R69R79R81R84. Some articles get stuck on the iPad for weeks , and the app can be slow to load . Accessibility with voiceover is also a concern .
Reliability edge: AP NewsR4R6R10R12
CBS News The CBS News app is frequently described as unreliable, with constant buffering, crashes, and freezing R4R6R19. Users report articles not loading completely and the app consuming a large amount of data R10R12.
AP News While AP News is generally seen as a reliable source of information , the app itself has reliability issues, including frequent crashes , slow loading times , and broken push notifications R72R75R76R97. Some users also report being logged out after updates R97.
Content/Bias tieR7R13R16R19
CBS News Many recent reviews express strong dissatisfaction with CBS News' perceived shift towards political bias, specifically a right-wing or pro-Trump stance, leading to a loss of trust R7R16R19. Users lament the firing of journalists and the perceived decline in journalistic integrity . There are also complaints about excessive 'Breaking News' notifications for non-urgent stories R13.
AP News AP News is praised by many for its objective and unbiased reporting R72. However, a significant number of users accuse the app of having a progressive, left-wing, or anti-American bias, with some claiming censorship in comments and a focus on divisive social justice issues . The addition of a comments section is seen as a negative, leading some to delete the app . Local news coverage is also criticized for being inadequate or too sports-focused .
Price/Value tieR6R48R60R68
CBS News CBS News is free to download but includes in-app purchases. Users complain about an excessive number of commercials and ads, which detract from the experience R6R48R60.
AP News AP News is free to download, and many users appreciate getting high-quality news without a paywall R68. However, there are frequent complaints about the increasing number and intrusiveness of ads, particularly Expedia ads, which negatively impact the user experience R69R79R81R84.
Pick CBS News if

You primarily seek live breaking news and local news from CBS, and are willing to tolerate app instability and a lack of basic features .

Pick AP News if

You prioritize a generally more stable app experience and a wider range of news content, even if it means dealing with sensitive ads and occasional notification issues R68.

Evidence note: CBS News has a significantly lower lifetime rating and a high volume of recent negative reviews, many of which focus on perceived political bias and app performance issues. AP News has a much higher lifetime rating and more reviews overall, with its negative feedback often centered on ad intrusiveness and specific app bugs.

Frequently asked

Does CBS News have a dark mode?
No, many users report that CBS News lacks a dark mode option, or if it exists, it is not intuitive to find and does not automatically follow iPhone settings R1R3R8R17.
Are there ads in AP News?
Yes, AP News includes ads, and many users find them to be increasingly numerous, large, and overly sensitive, often leading to accidental clicks that redirect them out of the app R69R79R81R84.
Do AP News notifications work reliably?
No, several users report that push notifications on AP News are unreliable, often broken after updates, or that filtering settings do not work, leading to unwanted notifications R72R75R76R97.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] CBS News 2/5 · US No dark mode is an example of how behind it is. STILL!: Needs to catch up on a lot of basic missing features in 2021.
  2. [R3] CBS News 3/5 · US No dark mode: Create a dark mode option
  3. [R8] CBS News 4/5 · US Nice App: Two desirable features are dark mode and larger fonts
  4. [R15] CBS News 3/5 · US It’s good but could be great if…: Money Watch has stock and index prices at the top in a banner. Kinda crazy it’s not.
  5. [R4] CBS News 1/5 · US App breaks daily: Constant buffering and crashes. Even after upgrading my internet, this app is practically unusable. It constantly loses connection and dies, especially on my Apple TV. Highly disappointed
  6. [R6] CBS News 3/5 · US Fair App: Fair at best, gets stuck a lot, no way to turn off stories with a blank black screen. Keeps ads going and can’t shut off.
  7. [R10] CBS News 2/5 · US Pages not fully loading: Many of the pages are only partially loading. Typically the starting pages load but the last half doesn’t load leaving a blank screen as I scroll through the article
  8. [R12] CBS News 3/5 · US Gone downhill: I used to be able to read an article in full. With recent updates, the video player seems to cause the feed for the article to stop refreshing. Have to back out of the app multiple time just to complete one article now and my phone starts to overheat.
  9. [R7] CBS News 2/5 · US I no longer trust CBS News: I make this short a sweet. I used to love CBS News. But I lost my trust in them thanks to Bari Weiss. However I will continue to support the local CBS News.
  10. [R13] CBS News 1/5 · US If everything is ‘Breaking’ News then nothing is news: Many of the items that come in as Breaking News, simply are not Breaking. There is no way to filter this regarding notification settings. If everything is urgent, nothing is urgent. I believe Dwight D Eisenhower said “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”
  11. [R16] CBS News 1/5 · US No more freedom of the press: CBS sold out, sad this was my favorite source of news and now I can't trust it to tell the truth
  12. [R19] CBS News 1/5 · US Unreliable: App freezes too often. “News” lacks the detail and objectivity one can find on other news apps. Dokoupil is a MAGA hand puppet. Niki Glaser said it best, “CBS News, America's newest place to C BS news”
  13. [R48] CBS News 1/5 · US Unreadable. Infested with ads.: Only reason to have this ap is to watch 60 minutes because it’s impossible to find it on TV. Now you have 160 minutes I will delete the app and never watch anything on CBS or Paramount+
  14. [R60] CBS News 2/5 · US Way Too Many Commercials: The number of commercials you have to watch to see any real news is just unbelievable. Truly.
  15. [R68] AP News 4/5 · US It’s the news: The content of the app is good and well done and the articles are informative. The functionality of the app is hit or miss, though. Sometimes it opens, sometimes it doesn’t. I’d have knocked off an additional star for that issue, but the app is free unlike its main competitor (BBC).
  16. [R17] CBS News 4/5 · US Dark mode iPhone?: So far so good, but it’s unclear how to enable dark mode? The app does not automatically use dark mode according to iPhone setting. If the option exists, the locations is not intuitive.
  17. [R69] AP News 3/5 · US Expedia ads: Recently lots of large Expedia ads embedded into articles that that are so highly touch-sensitive, it is *impossible* to scroll without accidentally clicking on them. Really irritating! Please please stop.
  18. [R79] AP News 2/5 · US Click sensitivity on ads: Click sensitivity on ads, particularly for Expedia, is absolutely ridiculous. I’m constantly opening safari tabs while trying to scroll. App is borderline unusable because of this.
  19. [R81] AP News 3/5 · US Ok coverage, bad ad interface: Can’t seem to scroll past an ad if you click/tap on it, it just continues to take you to the advertiser. Done.
  20. [R84] AP News 3/5 · US Annoying ads: Recently this app increased the vertical size of many ads, making it very difficult to scroll through articles without touching and triggering them to open in a new page. SO ANNOYING!!! Getting my news elsewhere until this stops.
  21. [R72] AP News 3/5 · US Great reporting, but push notifications are broken: I really value the Associated Press for the news it delivers. In an era of heavy bias, this app remains a go-to for extensive, objective reporting. I rely on it daily to stay informed on what’s actually happening without the spin. The only reason I’m not giving this 5 stars is a persistent technical issue with push notifications. Every time I ta
  22. [R75] AP News 3/5 · US Notifications: Notifications come and go with app updates. Please don’t break notifications when updating the app. iOS 26.0.1 Review update: still no notifications after the app update today, 11/1/25 Review update 11/25/25: I was hopeful that the latest app update would resolve this issue, but it has not. Would really appreciate you getting this fixed so I get your notifications. All app and ph
  23. [R76] AP News 2/5 · US Meh: Push notifications on iOS are completely broken. I set them to Breaking only, and I get everything. I set them to nothing, and I get everything. Otherwise a good app.
  24. [R97] AP News 1/5 · US App logs out every time it updates: Every time the app updates, my account is automatically signed out, which means I stop receiving breaking news notifications. I attempt to log back in, and instead of accepting my login credentials, the app prompts me that my account doesn’t exist and I have to create a new account. I have gone through this frustrating circular loop over three times. Please fix

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store