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

Hawaii News Now vs USA TODAY

Hawaii News Now 4.3★ · Free to download 40
Winner USA TODAY
USA TODAY 4.5★ · Free + IAP 65

USA TODAY offers a broader range of content and generally more reliable performance, despite issues with ads for subscribers, while Hawaii News Now struggles with frequent technical glitches and an overwhelming number of ads.

Full reviews: Hawaii News Now · USA TODAY

Hawaii News Now, a free local news app, is plagued by recent updates that introduced numerous ads, broken features, and poor usability, leading to significant user frustration. USA TODAY, a free app with IAP, provides a wider news scope and is generally well-regarded for its content, though it faces criticism for ads appearing even in paid subscriptions and occasional app instability.

Head to head

Features edge: USA TODAYR1R7R8R18
Hawaii News Now Hawaii News Now users report a significant decline in features after recent updates, including the inability to share articles, missing previous newscast features, and a lack of full headlines R1R18. Some users appreciate timely traffic updates and emergency notifications R8.
USA TODAY USA TODAY offers a wide variety of current news stories, including political, social, and economic importance, and is praised for its in-depth coverage . However, users complain about difficulty finding affiliated publications, awkward comic reading, and an inability to filter out sports content R73R81R102.
Ease of Use edge: USA TODAYR1R3R6R19
Hawaii News Now Many Hawaii News Now users find the updated app difficult to use, citing poor layout, small title fonts, and a 'touchy' interface for live news R1R3R6R19. Navigation is described as cluttered and confusing due to excessive ads and links .
USA TODAY USA TODAY is generally considered easy to navigate and informative . However, some users find the new format less desirable than the old newspaper layout, preferring more script headlines and fewer pictures . Issues with ads automatically clicking and opening new windows are also reported .
Reliability edge: USA TODAYR2R4R9R10
Hawaii News Now Hawaii News Now suffers from significant reliability issues, with frequent reports of the app not working, live feeds failing to load or crashing, articles not opening, and constant blackouts R4R9R10R12. Notifications also frequently do not clear or link to stories R2.
USA TODAY USA TODAY users experience issues with slow loading times, frequent app crashes, and videos failing to load . Some users report the app not refreshing content automatically, requiring manual restarts . Subscription-related issues, such as being locked out or restore purchases not working, are also noted R75.
Price/Value tieR3R5R13R16
Hawaii News Now Hawaii News Now is free to download but users report an overwhelming number of intrusive ads, including pop-ups every time the app is opened or sections are navigated, and ads playing automatically with no mute option R3R5R13R16. This significantly detracts from its value.
USA TODAY USA TODAY is free to download but offers in-app purchases. Many subscribers who pay for an 'ad-free' experience report still seeing numerous ads, pop-ups, and shopping articles, leading to feelings of being ripped off R64R67R75. This makes the paid subscription questionable in value for some users.
Support tieR1R4R19R52
Hawaii News Now Hawaii News Now reviews do not mention direct support interactions, but users express frustration with issues not being fixed after updates, suggesting a lack of responsiveness to user feedback R1R4R19R52.
USA TODAY USA TODAY users report difficulties contacting support or getting responses regarding subscription issues and ads . Links for feedback or 'tell us why' often do not work within the app .
Pick Hawaii News Now if

Pick Hawaii News Now if you primarily need local news for Hawaii, especially emergency notifications and traffic updates, and are willing to tolerate numerous ads and frequent technical issues R8.

Pick USA TODAY if

Pick USA TODAY if you desire a broad range of national and international news, including politics, social issues, and sports, and are comfortable with a free app that may still show ads even with a paid subscription .

Evidence note: Recent reviews for Hawaii News Now are overwhelmingly negative, heavily skewing its current user experience compared to its lifetime rating, primarily due to a problematic update. USA TODAY's reviews also show a significant negative trend regarding ads in paid subscriptions.

Frequently asked

Why are Hawaii News Now reviews so negative recently?
Recent Hawaii News Now updates have introduced a 'junk' layout, made articles unshareable, caused live streams to crash frequently, and significantly increased the number of intrusive ads, leading to widespread user dissatisfaction R1R3R12R16.
Does USA TODAY's paid subscription remove all ads?
No, many USA TODAY users who pay for an 'ad-free' subscription report still encountering numerous ads, pop-ups, and shopping articles, leading to frustration and a feeling of being ripped off R64R67R75R78.
Can I customize news categories in USA TODAY?
USA TODAY users report that while there is a sports section, it's difficult to filter out sports content from the main feed, and there's no option to select specific sports leagues to follow easily R73R81R102.
Are there issues with live streaming on Hawaii News Now?
Yes, many Hawaii News Now users report frequent issues with the live stream feature, including it not loading, crashing within minutes, or being inconsistent, making it unreliable for watching live news R3R9R12R14.

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] Hawaii News Now 2/5 · US App got worse: The new updated app is junk.. Layout not good.. Cannot share the article no more.. Bring back the old style app
  2. [R7] Hawaii News Now 1/5 · US Show the whole headline: You can only see a few words of the headline, which makes it hard to know if you want to click on the article or not. There is plenty of room to fit the entire headline.
  3. [R8] Hawaii News Now 5/5 · US Notification Issue: Excellent app, very reliable. I got an emergency notification from here before the alert went out!!! The traffic updates are also very timely. I used to have an issue with the articles not opening from the notifications but it seems like it was fixed.
  4. [R18] Hawaii News Now 3/5 · US Used to be good: Articles are non-shareable with the new update
  5. [R3] Hawaii News Now 3/5 · US Very touchy app for live news: The app is very touchy on iPhone and iPad when watching live. One wrong move or touch on my device and I lose the live and have to go back. The mandatory ads that pop up first mean I miss a chunk of news. Today the audio is about 30 seconds ahead of the video. Never would I rely on their weather app since they can’t even get the news app sorted out.
  6. [R6] Hawaii News Now 3/5 · US Title font size: Font size for titles on the new update on my iPad are way small. Really hard to read. Any way to make font size larger? Thanks!
  7. [R19] Hawaii News Now 1/5 · US Not Good: Where do I get the old app back. It was easy to see and read. I probably will not watch HNN anymore if this is my only option.
  8. [R2] Hawaii News Now 4/5 · US Since Update …: … the app doesn’t clear the notifications. It always shows one (1) notification. Should I delete the app & reload it?
  9. [R4] Hawaii News Now 1/5 · US Poor app: Hawaii news now doesn’t work for iPhone 16pro and iPad since the latest iOS updates.
  10. [R9] Hawaii News Now 3/5 · US Glitchy: App does not always work. Live feed does not load. I have been going to other news stations to get local news in the morning.
  11. [R10] Hawaii News Now 1/5 · US Can’t open the news articles!: Can’t open the news articles. Happens alot! Yes app up to date. Yes strong wifi. Etc etc. The videos are on a whole other level…
  12. [R5] Hawaii News Now 4/5 · US Way too many google ads that difficult to get out of. Way too many!: Same as the title
  13. [R13] Hawaii News Now 1/5 · US This App sucks: I guess commercials are more important than reporting the news. Especially the App on Roku as soon as you start watching they have to play a commercial. It’s very frustrating to say the least!
  14. [R16] Hawaii News Now 1/5 · US Advertising Only: What the hell? It was already almost purely ads, now in June 2026 you have to watch an ad just to click on a story, after navigating through more ads!
  15. [R52] Hawaii News Now 2/5 · US Poor Upgrade: On an iPhone and the platform and navigation now are poorly implemented. For one, the Live News don’t load anymore. The app was fine the way it was before the update.
  16. [R12] Hawaii News Now 3/5 · US Inconsistent function.: The app is so inconsistent with the livestream feature. Usually the livestream function never works. I appreciate the interface updates, but for folks who do not have local tv access, the livestream is needed and needs to be fixed.
  17. [R64] USA TODAY 1/5 · US STOP THE ADVERTISING! AD FREE Subscription SHOULD BE AD FREE!: This is at least the 6th time I've said this. I pay for AD FREE and USA TODAY inserts ads anyway, as well as countless SHOPPING articles throughout. What a rip off! USA TODAY always shows my Ad Free Subscription as Active. Then why all the ads?
  18. [R67] USA TODAY 1/5 · US Not Much Better than the First Tru: Am trying again, June 2026, with USA Today but once again the thing is not so hot. I pay for the ad-free version and my account says that is in effect but I had four pop-up vid ads just trying to read the news just now. The August 2017 update is absolutely horrible. Am dumping USA app as my usual daily news source. Just horrible. Why do you always think it is
  19. [R75] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Ad Free?: I’m so tired of having to restore my iTunes purchase of my subscription. Seriously? You can’t write the program to do that automatically? In the latest release I can’t even get the restore to actually work. Advertising everywhere. BTW, in ad free I would expect that also included removing the TIPCO advertising masquerading as sports information. Right. Get rid of this type of advertisin
  20. [R78] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Pop up ads: Pop up ads keep appearing. Should not happen with a subscription.
  21. [R73] USA TODAY 1/5 · US Not a sports fan: I have no interest in sports and don’t like sifting through dozens of sports stories to find the few news articles lower down on the page. You have a section called sports. Use it!
  22. [R81] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Sports Section Dissappointing: I miss being able to select the sports league I want to follow in the sports section on the main page. Now I have to click the left side arrow through multiple leagues and individual game score to try to get to the league I want which is completely inefficient and has me looking for a new site. Please redesign.
  23. [R102] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Too much sports: One of the last great papers for investigative reporting. However, if you’re not a sports fan, you can’t turn off the sports feed.
  24. [R14] Hawaii News Now 4/5 · US Livestream: Need to update the livestream it keep crashing within 5 on the app and the website

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