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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

ABC13 Houston News & Weather vs KPRC 2 News

ABC13 Houston News & Weather 4.7★ · Free + IAP 70
Winner ABC13 Houston News & Weather
KPRC 2 News 4.7★ · Free to download 60

ABC13 Houston News & Weather has a slight edge over KPRC 2 News due to fewer complaints about intrusive ads and better overall app stability, despite both apps struggling with notification linking.

Full reviews: ABC13 Houston News & Weather · KPRC 2 News

Both ABC13 Houston News & Weather and KPRC 2 News offer local news and weather, but KPRC 2 is heavily criticized for its excessive and intrusive ads. ABC13 also has issues, primarily with notifications not linking to stories, but its user experience appears less disrupted by advertising.

Head to head

Features tieR5R8R12R16
ABC13 Houston News & Weather ABC13 users appreciate the frequent news and weather notifications and the ability to stay updated on local, statewide, and national news R5R23R8. However, some users find the weather notifications excessive R12, and there are requests for more sports coverage beyond Houston teams R16. The app is praised for its comprehensive reporting R5.
KPRC 2 News KPRC 2 News is valued for its breaking news alerts, detailed reporting, and weather and traffic updates . Users also like the ability to view conditions in other locations . However, some users report that news is often old or not updated frequently R66, and there's a lack of follow-up on stories .
Ease of Use tieR2R3R5R9
ABC13 Houston News & Weather ABC13 is generally considered easy to manage and maneuver R5. However, a significant and recurring complaint is that notifications do not link directly to the relevant story, instead opening the app to the home page, forcing users to search for the article R2R3R9R15. Some users also report issues with the new update, such as radar being too small and difficulty finding specific topics without a search box .
KPRC 2 News KPRC 2 News users find the app's layout easy for viewing stories and appreciate its search functionality . However, many users struggle with navigation and finding specific stories . A major issue is that tapping notifications often doesn't open the correct content . There are also complaints about redundant postings in the feed and a lack of dark mode .
Reliability tieR13R17R20R21
ABC13 Houston News & Weather ABC13 users report frequent issues with the app freezing R31, locking up R21, and not working at all, sometimes displaying a "no internet" message despite having connectivity R17R20. Photos and videos often fail to load , and audio can be out of sync R13. These problems have persisted over multiple updates .
KPRC 2 News KPRC 2 News also has reliability concerns, with users reporting that the app drains battery quickly . Some users experience videos playing uncommanded and issues with the app's streaming service being a "joke" . There are also mentions of poor updates and stories not being current .
Price/Value edge: ABC13 Houston News & WeatherR2R3R31R57
ABC13 Houston News & Weather ABC13 is a free app with in-app purchases. Users do not extensively discuss price or value, but the issues with notifications and app stability detract from its overall value R2R3R31.
KPRC 2 News KPRC 2 News is free to download, but its value is severely diminished by an overwhelming number of intrusive, full-screen, and auto-playing ads, which users find obnoxious and frustrating R66R69. Many users have deleted the app due to these ads R57.
Support tieR17R19R21R37
ABC13 Houston News & Weather Users express frustration over not being able to contact the news department directly and issues with the app's functionality persisting over time . Some reviews are direct pleas for fixes R17R19R21R37.
KPRC 2 News There is no direct feedback on support, but the widespread complaints about ads and lack of fixes suggest that user feedback might not be adequately addressed .
Pick ABC13 Houston News & Weather if

You prioritize a local news app with fewer intrusive ads and a generally smoother user interface, even if you might encounter occasional freezing or notification linking issues R5.

Pick KPRC 2 News if

You are a long-time KPRC 2 viewer who values their specific reporting style and weather accuracy, and you are willing to tolerate frequent and aggressive advertising .

Evidence note: Both apps have a similar lifetime rating, but recent reviews for KPRC 2 News are heavily skewed negative due to pervasive ad complaints, which are less prevalent for ABC13 Houston News & Weather. The free-to-download nature of both apps means that negative feedback often stems from friction points like ads or technical glitches, rather than payment issues.

Frequently asked

Do these apps have a lot of ads?
KPRC 2 News has a significant problem with excessive, intrusive, full-screen, and auto-playing ads that appear upon opening the app and during articles, leading many users to delete it R66R69. ABC13 Houston News & Weather has fewer complaints about ads, though some users dislike auto-playing videos R52R57.
Do notifications link to the correct stories?
Both ABC13 Houston News & Weather and KPRC 2 News frequently fail to link notifications directly to the corresponding story; instead, they often open to the app's home page, requiring users to search for the article (R2, R3, R9, R15, R19, , , for ABC13; , for KPRC 2).
Are the news updates current?
Users of ABC13 Houston News & Weather generally appreciate frequent and updated news and weather R5R23, though some find news and weather can be a day or more old R45. KPRC 2 News receives criticism for often having old news, not refreshing content frequently, and lacking follow-ups on stories R66.

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. [R5] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 4/5 · US Best app. for local and national news: This is my number 1 app to keep abreast of the most updated news and events locally, Statewide and Nationally. It’s easy to manage and maneuver
  2. [R8] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 5/5 · US The best app ever!!!: I check my phone before i turn on my TV,when news breaks I’m the first to inform my coworkers. Thanks 👁 witness news
  3. [R12] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 3/5 · US Too many notifications!: 90% of the app seems like it’s about the weather over and over and over and over. It’s never what they say will be so I don’t understand why they HAR it so many times even on the 30 minutes of newscast it’s weather five minutes something else five minutes something else weather I mean how much weather do we need? Everybody has the app if we want to get the weather it’s ove
  4. [R16] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 1/5 · US Sports section. Not very good. I wish they would have Bob Allen Tim Melton: Can you cover more sports beside Houston teams in a few minutes of sports back in old days by Tim Melton. Bob Allen. Cover a lot of sports. What went on all day in a few minutes.
  5. [R2] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 4/5 · US Opening app: Every time I get a notification about an updated story I click on it that seems very interesting and it does not go to that story. Very disappointing.
  6. [R3] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 3/5 · US Notifications are not linked: It is so frustrating when a notification shows up on my phone, hit the link, but it only opens your app. The notification should take you to the article mentioned in the notification. Then I search and search and can never find the article. Waste of my time trying to use your app.
  7. [R9] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 3/5 · US AP doesn’t seem to keep up with notifications: I get notifications from ABC13 on a regular basis. 99% of the time, when I click on the notification and the APP opens, there is nothing there about what the notification was about…
  8. [R13] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 1/5 · US Audio: No other app has the issue but the audio is not synched up with what they are saying
  9. [R17] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 5/5 · US You need some help with your ap: It DOESNT work!!!!!! It just sits there. My phone and apps are up to date! It’s not me, it’s you!
  10. [R20] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 5/5 · US Terrible app- able to all nbc and cbs without a problem. Your app does not work on I phone???: Your does not work- able to get all news on my I phone but your message says no internet. What give?
  11. [R21] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 3/5 · US News: I have been using and 13 Houston for year's, a few months ago I switch to I phone, now every few days the program locks up and won't do anything, so I delete, and reload, but the problem continues. Can you give me any reason? ……….just saying
  12. [R31] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 1/5 · US Freezes constantly: Works great reading three or four articles. Then it freezes up, and the whole phone is useless. Several minutes later, I can minimize the app and kill it. Don't get me wrong, reading the news from KTRK is a highlight of my morning. But I can't do it any longer.
  13. [R57] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 1/5 · US Live coverage: When I click on a News article, I’m coming into the app to read that article. I’m not coming into the app to be inundated by whatever live coverage you have going on at the time. The option to turn off auto play doesn’t even work. It’s so obnoxious that I deleted the entire app.
  14. [R19] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 2/5 · US Opening a notification doesn’t take me to the story: I have an iPhone 14 and I have this app set up to send me notifications. Any time I click on a notification for a story I want to read, I am sent to the home page of the app but never to the exact story, which I then have to search for. Other apps send me to the exact story and it is frustrating that yours does not. Please fix.
  15. [R37] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 2/5 · US Needs updated to fix bugs: I can’t open the article I want to, everytime I click on one, it takes me to another article and I can’t read the one I want to. Update the app!!
  16. [R52] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 2/5 · US Not too thrilled with your app: Whenever I open my app up, I’m always getting some news video playing automatically is if I want to hear it when I just want to see what’s going on in the world not here someone talking especially Donald Trump or anyone else from the Republican national convention and it seems that you are being because all you do is talk about them and talk about them and talk abou
  17. [R66] KPRC 2 News 3/5 · US Where do I start!: Too many adds that interrupt the beginning of the import every news story. Most annoying is the old news, it’s like they don’t refresh what’s on the app but a couple of times a day. Scroll for more news and it just repeats it what’s up top!! This is the most annoying.
  18. [R69] KPRC 2 News 3/5 · US Adds: As soon as you click the app, an advertisement pops up! Too many videos also!
  19. [R15] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 3/5 · US Notifications - improve the target they open: It’s not a good user experience when very specific notifications to the phone screen only open the app when clicked. The expectation for notifications is that they open a target page directly related to the notification so the user doesn’t have to hunt around in the app for the information that brought them to it. Otherwise, app is great!
  20. [R23] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 5/5 · US I like the ...: I like the frequent news and weather pop-up notifications I get from Channel 13. And Channel 13's notifications always pop up first.
  21. [R45] ABC13 Houston News & Weather 3/5 · US News: Most of the news is not current, neither is the weather - it’s at least one or more days old

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