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

SmartNews vs Spanish & English for Kids

SmartNews 4.6★ · Free to download 75
Winner SmartNews
Spanish & English for Kids 4.2★ · Free + IAP 30

SmartNews is the better choice for general news consumption due to its broad content and generally positive user experience, while Spanish & English for Kids suffers from significant functionality issues.

Full reviews: SmartNews · Spanish & English for Kids

SmartNews offers a wide range of news content, with users appreciating its informative articles and easy layout, despite concerns about bias and ads. Spanish & English for Kids, while praised for its educational concept, is plagued by numerous technical issues, including missing pictures, non-functional features, and problems with paid content.

Head to head

Content & Features edge: SmartNewsR2R5R7R10
SmartNews SmartNews provides a variety of interesting and informative articles, with users appreciating the diverse stories and up-to-date information R2R5. However, some users report issues with clickbait headlines, misleading content, and a lack of full stories R7R10. There are also complaints about the inability to adjust video feeds and a shift towards more 'fluff' news .
Spanish & English for Kids Spanish & English for Kids is designed to help children learn Spanish and English, offering various activities and exams . Users praise its educational potential and the fun games when they work . However, many features are locked behind a paywall , and even after purchasing, users report that content doesn't unlock or work correctly R77R78R93.
Ease of Use & Navigation edge: SmartNewsR1R8R11R18
SmartNews Many SmartNews users find the layout easy to navigate and appreciate the presentation of content R8R11. However, a significant number of users report frustrating scrolling issues that cause articles to reset R1, problems with notifications not leading to the correct article R18, and articles failing to open or dropping mid-reading . Some also find the app's 'gamification' features annoying .
Spanish & English for Kids When functioning, Spanish & English for Kids is generally considered easy to use for its target audience. However, numerous users report that many icons go nowhere, initial lessons are frozen , and the app doesn't work properly on iPads .
Reliability & Performance edge: SmartNewsR5R14R24R36
SmartNews SmartNews generally performs well for many users, providing up-to-date news R5R14. However, some users experience issues with the app causing their phone to overheat R24, articles not opening or dropping mid-reading , and the article list refreshing while reading . There are also reports of bad links, especially to TikTok R36.
Spanish & English for Kids Spanish & English for Kids has severe reliability issues. Users frequently report that pictures don't load or have disappeared, making matching games and quizzes unusable R67R69R85. Sound often stops working R72R94, and puzzles give incorrect feedback . Many features are frozen or simply don't work even after purchase R77R78.
Price & Value edge: SmartNewsR9R10R19R21
SmartNews SmartNews is free, but users frequently complain about the overwhelming number of ads, including pop-ups and video ads, which disrupt the reading experience R9R10R19R21. Some feel the app has become too focused on ads and less on quality news .
Spanish & English for Kids Spanish & English for Kids is free to download but requires in-app purchases to unlock most content . Many users express frustration at paying for the full version only to find that features remain locked or don't work, leading them to feel scammed and regret their purchase R77R78R93R94.
Bias & Content Quality edge: SmartNewsR4R8R10R13
SmartNews SmartNews is praised by some for being an unbiased source and offering diverse viewpoints R8. However, a significant number of recent reviews criticize the app for having a strong political bias, particularly leaning left or against specific political figures R4R13R16R22. Users also complain about sensationalized headlines, misleading content, and articles that are clearly untrue or AI-generated junk R10.
Spanish & English for Kids For Spanish & English for Kids, content quality issues are primarily related to accuracy and cultural relevance. One user noted that the app uses Latin American Spanish pronunciation, which is not suitable for teaching Castilian Spanish . Another review pointed out specific errors, such as the number 40 being pronounced as 'fifty' and a fire truck being identified as a canoe .
Pick SmartNews if

You want a free news aggregator with a wide range of content, are willing to tolerate ads, and can overlook occasional bias or technical glitches R2R5R8R11.

Pick Spanish & English for Kids if

You are looking for an educational app for kids to learn Spanish and English and are hopeful that the significant technical issues will be resolved .

Evidence note: The evidence for Spanish & English for Kids is heavily skewed towards negative experiences, particularly concerning functionality and paid content issues. SmartNews has a much larger volume of reviews, offering a more balanced view despite recent negative trends.

Frequently asked

Does SmartNews have a lot of ads?
Yes, many SmartNews users report a high frequency of ads, including pop-ups and video ads, which can be disruptive to the reading experience R9R10R19R21.
Are there issues with paying for Spanish & English for Kids?
Yes, many users report significant problems after purchasing the full version of Spanish & English for Kids, including content remaining locked, features not working, and the app asking for payment again R77R78R93R94.
Is SmartNews politically biased?
While some users find SmartNews to be unbiased, a notable number of recent reviews indicate a perceived political bias, with complaints about the app leaning towards one side or consistently criticizing specific political figures R4R13R16R22.
Does Spanish & English for Kids have sound or picture problems?
Yes, many users of Spanish & English for Kids report that pictures often do not load or have disappeared, and the sound frequently stops working, significantly hindering the app's functionality R67R69R72R85.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 111 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. [R2] SmartNews 5/5 · US Smart News Articles: Smart News stories are very interesting and informative.
  2. [R5] SmartNews 5/5 · US A review: A great way to keep up with what’s going on in the world. Stories from everywhere and very up to date.
  3. [R7] SmartNews 1/5 · US Clickbait?: Clickbait. Doesn’t show the headline you’re clicking on. Just keeps you wandering around looking for your story. Many times never to find it. Deleting SmartNews off all my devices.
  4. [R10] SmartNews 2/5 · US Semi useful at best: Smart News started of with delivering decent and interesting news. Then it jumped the shark by sensationalizing their headlines without following up with matching content. There are headines that make you think there is a video included, and there is not, or it's just an ad video, multiplied many times as you scroll. Then there are the imbedded ads for scam products that they
  5. [R1] SmartNews 1/5 · US Scrolling, your app sucks!: Scrolling down while reading an article, if you’re not perfect in scrolling down it switches to to all the headlines. Then you have to pick your article again and again and again. Very frustrating
  6. [R8] SmartNews 5/5 · US Easy Layout: I enjoy the content that I chose to receive and the way it’s presented. On other platforms I used previously it was a constant issue getting back to the main page. I find the articles have the full story and not just snippets. I’m really happy to have found this unbiased source.
  7. [R11] SmartNews 5/5 · US Great News Sote: Great set up. Easy to navigate
  8. [R18] SmartNews 3/5 · US Mr.: So many times when I click on a notification, I don’t get transferred to the article but instead to the home page.
  9. [R14] SmartNews 4/5 · US Great information: Great information, I red it every day I highly recommend Love it
  10. [R24] SmartNews 3/5 · US Review: My phone gets hot when I on the app. Too much tracking
  11. [R36] SmartNews 3/5 · US Bad links: All of the links that go to TikTok don’t work. Links go to completely different story.
  12. [R9] SmartNews 3/5 · US Mixed: Good content. Too many ads.
  13. [R19] SmartNews 1/5 · US Way too many biases and ads: I’m not sure how adding auto add popping up constantly help to sell anything!! All it does is irritate the reader. Trying to scroll the news and accidentally somehow touching one of the MANY advertisements… at what point does reader education trump greed??
  14. [R21] SmartNews 3/5 · US Popups again: Mostly garbage news sources these days. And full page popups are back. Nope nope nope. Delete. Update: Developers respond to requests, so that's nice. Wanted to be able to block specific publishers to try and limit the fluff and sure enough they added the feature. Current issue keeping me from using the iPad app at all now, and to some degree the iPhone as well, is the damn gamif
  15. [R4] SmartNews 2/5 · US Not what at once was: When I first got SmartNews, I enjoy being able to see news from both sides. However, the app is becoming much more leaning to one side more than the other. After leaving this review, I actually plan on deleting the app and finding something that that leans less than this
  16. [R13] SmartNews 1/5 · US Bias: As usual the smart news is bias. I am tired of you bashing President Trump and the Republican Party and the articles about Melania are cruel. I will be looking for another news source that will be more about the news not bashing the republicans.
  17. [R77] Spanish & English for Kids 1/5 · US Horrible: Paid for full access and it does not work
  18. [R78] Spanish & English for Kids 5/5 · US Help: I paid for the whole game but it still only shows abc to learn but all the others I can’t click just has a bar where the name suppose to be
  19. [R93] Spanish & English for Kids 1/5 · US Sad: I had purchased this for my boys and had full access to everything on it, now it won’t let them do the puzzles or hear What was usual without having to buy it again..., why do I have to buy it again????
  20. [R94] Spanish & English for Kids 5/5 · US Don’t waste your money: Purchased the full version of the app and then the sound went away. If I could give this app zero star I would. Don’t purchase the app
  21. [R16] SmartNews 1/5 · US Smart News is a Front for USA Bias against American Values people have spilt their blood defending.: I have been a reader of Smart News for a long time. But I am finished. Your Bias against or President who I never voted for and you never cease criticizing with more radicalized articles does not get a fair chance against your concerted barrage along with the communist and left wing zealots who pub
  22. [R22] SmartNews 2/5 · US Every thing that Trump does is wrong. Clear case of of TDS😡: Iran is winning the war on this forum 💁😁
  23. [R67] Spanish & English for Kids 2/5 · US Doesn’t load pictures: Purchased full version to not be able to see photos when doing the quiz on the app
  24. [R69] Spanish & English for Kids 3/5 · US Can’t see pictures: Please fix app soon. Everything is great about it but can’t do much if there’s no pictures.
  25. [R72] Spanish & English for Kids 3/5 · US Sound not working: Not sure why but the sound is no longer working on the app.
  26. [R85] Spanish & English for Kids 2/5 · US Where did the pictures go?: My daughter loves this app but the pictures have disappeared. I see other people saying that as well. They worked for a while but have recently disappeared which eliminates all of the value of the app. I hope they fix it!

Synthesized from 111 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store