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

MS NOW vs NewsBreak

MS NOW 4.1★ · Free to download 40
Winner NewsBreak
NewsBreak 4.8★ · Free to download 75

NewsBreak is the better choice for general news consumption due to its broader content and higher user satisfaction, despite issues with ads and AI-generated content, while MS NOW struggles with severe technical issues and limited free content.

Full reviews: MS NOW · NewsBreak

NewsBreak offers a wide range of news, including local and international stories, with many users appreciating its quick updates and diverse content, though it faces criticism for excessive ads and AI-generated articles. MS NOW, while providing MSNBC content, is plagued by persistent technical glitches, login problems, and a lack of full live shows for non-cable subscribers, leading to significant user frustration.

Head to head

Content & Features edge: NewsBreakR1R3R6R15
MS NOW MS NOW users are frustrated by the lack of full live shows and often only find snippets of programs, requiring a cable subscription for full access R1R3R28R32. Some users appreciate the content itself, but find the app's offerings limited without a paid TV provider R6R15R28.
NewsBreak NewsBreak offers a wide variety of news, including local updates, crime maps, and international stories, which many users find informative and helpful for staying updated . However, some users complain about misleading headlines, old or irrelevant notifications, and a significant amount of AI-generated content and tabloid-style stories R61R64R66.
Ease of Use & Reliability edge: NewsBreakR2R6R8R9
MS NOW MS NOW is widely criticized for persistent technical issues, including freezing, crashing, inability to open, and constant login problems, especially on Apple TV and Roku R8R9R10R13. Users also report issues with volume levels, lack of dark mode, and poor accessibility features like font size and landscape view on iPads R2R6.
NewsBreak NewsBreak users generally find the app easy to navigate for headlines and articles . However, some report issues with basic features no longer working, such as GIFs . There are also complaints about slow reporting and a lack of real live updates .
Ads & Monetization tieR4R21R29R55
MS NOW MS NOW users are highly frustrated by repetitive and excessive commercials, with the same ads playing multiple times in a row during breaks and even over the beginning of shows R4R21R55. Some users express willingness to pay for an ad-free experience or full shows R29.
NewsBreak NewsBreak is heavily criticized for an overwhelming number of ads, including pop-ups, unskippable ads, and fake/scam ads, which significantly disrupt the user experience R63R73R79. Some users feel forced to pay for a 'Premium' plan to block these ads .
Bias & Trustworthiness edge: MS NOWR1R3R25R64
MS NOW MS NOW users primarily seek content from MSNBC, indicating a preference for that specific news source R1R3R25. There are no specific complaints about bias within the MSNBC content itself, but rather about the app's ability to deliver it.
NewsBreak NewsBreak faces significant criticism for perceived political bias, with users claiming it slants news to the left or is an echo chamber for far-right conspiracy theories and disinformation R76. Many users also question the trustworthiness of the content due to the prevalence of AI-generated articles, fake ads, and user-posted content R64R79.
Pick MS NOW if

you are a dedicated MSNBC viewer who already has a cable TV provider and is willing to tolerate significant technical issues and repetitive ads for access to MSNBC content, particularly on mobile devices where it might be more stable.

Pick NewsBreak if

you want a broad range of local and international news updates, including crime maps, and are willing to navigate through numerous ads and potentially biased or AI-generated content to get quick headlines and diverse stories.

Evidence note: NewsBreak has a significantly higher number of ratings and a higher lifetime average rating, suggesting broader user satisfaction despite the detailed complaints. MS NOW's reviews are overwhelmingly negative regarding app functionality, which aligns with its lower lifetime rating.

Frequently asked

Can I watch full live MSNBC shows on the MS NOW app without a cable subscription?
No, many users report that the MS NOW app primarily offers snippets of shows and requires a cable TV provider login to watch full live broadcasts R1R3R28R32.
Does NewsBreak have a lot of ads?
Yes, NewsBreak is frequently criticized by users for having an excessive number of ads, including pop-ups, unskippable ads, and even fake or scam ads, which often interrupt the reading and viewing experience R63R73R79R91.
Are there technical issues with the MS NOW app?
Yes, the MS NOW app is plagued by numerous technical issues, including frequent freezing, crashing, problems opening the app, persistent login failures with TV providers, and inconsistent performance across different devices like Apple TV and Roku R8R10R13R19.
Is NewsBreak's content reliable and unbiased?
NewsBreak's content reliability and bias are frequently questioned by users, with many reporting a significant amount of AI-generated articles, misleading headlines, and perceived political slants R61R64R66R76.

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] MS NOW 2/5 · US No live shows!: I recently dropped my streaming service, so msnbc went away. I thought that would be ok, because I new this app existed. So, I downloaded it and all I can find is snippets of shows! I can’t watch a full show the day after it was live, I can watch a half hour of an hour long show the next day, but then it switches to a different show! Not even close to what I thought it would be!
  2. [R3] MS NOW 3/5 · US MS NOW LIVE ON THERE APP ONLY: Why can’t MS NOW show there live broadcasts on there app like NBC news does instead of going thru a subscription TV NBC News have a live take every time you watch NBC News
  3. [R6] MS NOW 3/5 · US App volume is too low!: I love the content but the volume on live streaming of the tv channel is set way too low. I have to put my Ipad volume all the way to maximum in order to hear the app at a reasonable volume. They need to fix this. It’s a problem.
  4. [R15] MS NOW 3/5 · US Doesn’t use accessibility features for font size: I appreciate this reporting and listen often, however the site doesn’t allow the accessibility features of iPhone. The font is small and thin, doesn’t rotate when I turn the phone, and pinching it larger then requires an annoying back and forth movement to read. For an entire article or several articles, this is just too frustrating. Your content i
  5. [R2] MS NOW 5/5 · US Great App, but….: Awesome User Experience except that there is no dark mode. Can you add a toggle for dark mode in the settings. Thanks
  6. [R8] MS NOW 4/5 · US MS Now app on Apple TV needs immediate support please!: I use the MS NOW Apple TV app daily, and for almost 2 days it hasn’t been working, just the spinning/loading wheel. Thank you.
  7. [R9] MS NOW 3/5 · US Apple TV: Works fine on iPad and iPhone. Periodically need to delete and reinstall then works fine until next Appletv update
  8. [R4] MS NOW 1/5 · US FIX THE COMMERCIALS!!!: The news part of this app is just fine. The shows work, the articles work, the videos work. But god help you if you listen to the live tv app during the work day. The same freaking commercial will play like five times in a row EACH commercial break all day long. It’s driving me insane. I’m so close to ditching this app all together just because of the commercials. Fix this!
  9. [R21] MS NOW 3/5 · US Commercials: If you like commercials, especially hearing the same small number of commercials over and over and over, this is the app for you! Also, if you like an app that plays commercials over the first few minutes of a show, so that you come in on a show already in progress, then you’ll love this one.
  10. [R29] MS NOW 1/5 · US What happened to the great MSNOW experience? New management killed it!: So much is wrong with the site. I am perfectly happy to pay for a news site that works But not for one that forces the viewer to suffer through ads that they do not want an SD that seem to make the viewer take multiple extra steps to even get to the programming that they want! More and more I stream podcasts and substack p
  11. [R55] MS NOW 1/5 · US Stop with the Comcast commercials: Deleted the app after hearing the same Comcast commercial no less than 12 times in a one hour period while streaming morning Joe. When it wasn’t Comcast it was Spectrum. Unreal!
  12. [R25] MS NOW 1/5 · US Rachel Maddow: I have switched providers numerous times to be able to get MSNBC/MSNBC NOW and still I am denied anyway to Rachel Maddow. So I will probably change again.
  13. [R64] NewsBreak 1/5 · US Chock full of AI, Trumpsters & Basic Features No Longer Work: Title says it all. 99.99% of all videos on this app are made with AI and intended to deceive. Since their main audience is senile Trumpster seniors, near everyone on the app is inherently incapable of differentiating between whats genuine/real and whats not. Moreover, these ppl will bet their first born child in order to defend these v
  14. [R28] MS NOW 3/5 · US Ok: As a shorts informational app it’s ok. I’d rather pay for a full app with full stories than just pieces of interviews, hearing moments. This doesn’t allow enough information to be very valuable and I am a true fan of MS but, I need more from the app.
  15. [R32] MS NOW 3/5 · US no cable/big problem: If you want to watch live you must have a cable subscription. I’m not opposed to paying a small fee (like other streaming apps) to access this. When will these sites realize we don’t all worship cable companies?
  16. [R63] NewsBreak 3/5 · US Frustrated: Too many advertisements. I keep seeing sources i don’t want to see
  17. [R73] NewsBreak 1/5 · US Ads: Cannot watch or read anything without spectrum ad popping up several times. I’m already spectrum customer so I don’t need to be sold over & over again.
  18. [R79] NewsBreak 1/5 · US Positive feedback is false: Full of ads, uses AI in their ads and doesn’t show any crime or danger on my map.
  19. [R91] NewsBreak 1/5 · US the ads are out of hand: there’s no reason for there to be a bunch of unstoppable ads and pop-ups getting in the way of critical information
  20. [R10] MS NOW 1/5 · US used to work fine…now, not so much!: This app used to work fine on my roku, but about a week ago it started giving error message after a few minutes of streaming ! Did you update something that created the glitch? I suppose I will have to subscribe to it on youtube and catch clips! This is not acceptable! 🥵
  21. [R13] MS NOW 1/5 · US Freezes on the Thank You screen: Tried to use it but the app freezes after the introductory privacy messages, whether you opt out or don’t.
  22. [R19] MS NOW 1/5 · US Fix the sign in!: Have to sign in every single time and now it doesn’t work at all. Frustrating
  23. [R61] NewsBreak 1/5 · US Terrible source for news.: The headlines are always over the top and misleading. Usually notifications are for stories that are either old or irrelevant.
  24. [R66] NewsBreak 3/5 · US Ehhh: It’s too much ai
  25. [R76] NewsBreak 2/5 · US Bias: No matter what I block no matter what I report this still try’s to shove liberal news down your throat when you just want the news not libs opinions of the news.

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