CNN App for iPad News App Review (iOS, Free)

Description

CNN connects you to the world, wherever you are.

Stay informed with the latest headlines and original stories from around the globe. Follow up-to-the-minute reporting with breaking news alerts and live video. Lead the conversation by sharing and commenting on today’s news and dig deeper into the stories that matter most to you.

• Get breaking news alerts and follow stories as they develop.
• Go beyond the surface with international, politics, opinion, tech and entertainment stories and more.
• Watch video clips and coverage of live events as they unfold. View your favorite CNN shows LIVE (as available; check with your cable, satellite or telco provider).
• Explore original stories and trending topics with the Featured section of your app.


Have questions or feedback on the CNN App? E-mail us at [email protected] . We are always looking for suggestions on how to provide the best experience possible for you.

Customer Reviews

• CNN is must have app!

  by David Teague

  As a graphic designer this app is part of my workflow everyday! It keeps me informed and entertained!

• CNN new format

  by zrpb03

  I may be different than most but most of the time I prefer reading the article rather than watching a video. The best scenario would be to give the reader a choice. The big bright pictures are OK but I prefer written bullet points like the website has. News used to be a transfer of information. I think this APP is trying to make it entertainment.

• Love it!

  by judluk

  I love this app, it's the only way I get my news on a daily basis.

• Videos Don’t Play

  by Harley Renegade

  Almost daily I find 1 to a few videos that just won’t play (over very fast Wifi even). This is very annoying!!! CNN shouldn’t be having this problem & should do everything they can to FIX it!!! I love the CNN App, but I HATE the fact that all their videos don’t have a 100% play ratio! Get it together CNN!!!

• It's ok hating the Ads

  by batty505

  It was pretty good till all the Ads force you to watch rather then skip.

• Great

  by tdctommy

  Watch CNN every morning while getting ready for the day!

• Overall good news app

  by Mrityu

  It does an average job but could do much better. There are repetitive news items because of video and non video of same incidents. No good way to segregate categories.

• Rick

  by Sailor Guy

  I, like others, believe there should be an update that would improve the topic reach ability. It's not a horrible app. Remember many more elders using it now so think of what would make the program easier for them too.

• Gets stuck

  by McWords123

  No way to skip ads and no way to return to reading the news. Had to uninstall the app when it got stuck in a GEICO ad. Dumb.

• CNN

  by ManiacBlackbear

  New format better than last.

• Great source

  by BFHawley

  Great source, well organized and exceptionally written. Now if they could just reduce the length of the ads.

• Good not great

  by gmihelich

  The app us great. Clean, easy to navigate. Good access to headline news. But that's my disappointment as well I guess. Mainstream media is not in depth enough coverage for my tastes. But for the Reader's Digest on headlines this app is as good as any.

• Too many ads

  by Beeka41

  I don't like being forced to watch an ad before seeing a video. I don't mind their popping up but I want to be able to choose which ones I want to see. Many times I just don't watch the story because I can get it elsewhere

• Excellent

  by necedmu

  I love the CNN app...very informative...I love that I can get notifications on the latest news!

• It's ok

  by Erick117301

  I happen to like the layout of the apps news articles but find the commercials and the system it uses to engage the reader horrible. I mean the same commercial over and over. Then to top it off you are unable to skip it. Try canceling and and your left the sponsors static ad or website and then to make matters worse it runs on every video that's embedded. This my first truly negative review of a app, it makes me not want use it. So people be warned in order to watch a news video entails sitting through a commercial which one can not bypass. I think it would be more tolerable if the commercials were more varied. I due believe that people understand that commercials are what pay the for the site but the same over and over... It get sickening after 4th of 5th time.... Shame

• Great

  by K-dub-u

  Love the new format. One of my "Go to" news apps.

• Mostly like it, but the update not so much

  by Syl57

  I have enjoyed using the CNN app. I like having the news at my fingertips and it keeps me in touch with just enough information...BUT! The update CRASHES with the opening of about half of the video clips that are featured--what's up with that?? Also, it would be very nice to have the button links to social media, so we could share directly from the story, instead of having to go to CNN.com, hunt for the story and then share from there. If you can get those two issues fixed, then I can give five stars.

• CNN for iPad

  by Auntcar

  I Love CNN for my IPad, l get alerts with breaking news stories and it keeps me up on all the worlds events.

• CNN

  by Dually Driver

  Could have a little more content, but I enjoy using it.

• Using mainly to watch CNN live

  by TenPro

  Streams perfectly on Apple TV. Great video resolution w/ no buffering.

• Nice news but terrible redirect

  by RetiredBoomer1946

  When reviewing new articles I inadvertently hit advertisement to Kmart, now it won't let me back, I understand adds needed to offset costs, but don't let me exit. Very frustrating!!!!!!! Will now delete app and try again. This is poor design and needs a fix.

• Please fix

  by alliek

  What happened to hln? Also, why have me sign in with my provider then have so very many commercials? I would rather pay then have to sit through a silly 15 second commercial every time I want to see a news clip. Also, what happened to hln? Please fix. I used to love this app. Not so much

• Annoyed

  by Trpified

  None of the links work for 5 things to know about your day, there is no way to read the entire caption of a picture because of inability to scroll down for the rest of the sentence.... And the number of times we have to watch those awful Geico ads just blew it all into the fan.... For as reliable as cnn news is, this app is clearly not.

• Give us the option of NOT using tiles!

  by Moi320

  Hate this last update! Tiles are huge, take up too much space, way to much scrolling required for reading what feels like 1/2 page of "news". I understand some people might like the tiles, but for those of us who do NOT, can there be the option of having the previous formatting? For the time being, I' ll be using some other news outlet's app. Please fix!

• Still "Buggy" after all these Years

  by CBS

  This application continues to have issues. From lost synchronization of audio and video to randomly asking for passwords before showing video. Right now it won't accept my providers password even though the password is correct. I thought by now they would have fixed these issues but they continue to occur.

• Tsk, tsk.....crappy app

  by ronbjon

  This has been a pretty disappointing update, frozen videos, that is if they even start(maybe if the unavoidable commercials would play this app might work). This use to be my go to source for news and information, not anymore. It'll languish on my iPad for a while hoping for an update fix, if nothing soon, deletion city.

• Useless

  by Gabe8631

  This app is awful. After the update it was like nothing worked. I tried to do the unlock and watch, but it wouldn't allow me too. App would just crash. Then I attempted to watch the LIVE segments ... the video either froze or started and played for a minute, then froze with the audio still running. I like CNN, but this app is now just taking up space on my iPad mini.

• v2.01 = More Ads

  by Bryant Rydberg

  CNN is not a non-profit company but has ruined its app by adding more advertising. Annoying ad pop-ups and 30s video ads; 30 seconds! 15s should be standard and find myself using CNN app less often now. The UI is fine and simple to navigate, thus got an extra star.

• Ads are annoying

  by lazyswimmer

  Ads pop up in front of my news with out me clicking on them and makes me click a little 'x'. Get out my face, I'm trying to get my news on.

• Too much video

  by sqrlntkn

  This used to be my main source for morning news- but they keep shifting to video format. Not everyone likes this and they have no options. It's either video OR Text. Also- the videos can lock you into an ad followed by a delete app, re-install app... looking for replacement

• Ads

  by Sword100

  Don't know why but CNN directed me to GEICO ad. Don't mind TOO much, BUT I DO MIND THAT I CAN'T GET OUT OF IT!!!!!!! I have tried everything to get back to CNN with no success. Now every time I go to CNN app, I get the GEICO ad. Were your geeks born stupid or did they go to a special geek school to learn stupid? Needless to say am deleting CNN app from my iPad.

• Navigation is Awful

  by Dobysdad

  The navigation on this app is awful. If you accidentally touch the screen on an ad, good luck getting back to the content. The navigation controls change position depending on the type of content. This type of inconsistency is frustrating and wastes my time. I can do without CNN on my iPaf.

• Ads are excessive no help

  by Dantheman8108

  I wish there were negative stars. The CNN app used to be really good back when it first released. Now it is crap with ads on every video, and the video usually bombs but the ads always play. Crashes and lags just like the last update did.

• Protest CNN

  by Wvsd66

  I deleted CNN app in protest because CNN refused to provide Deaf people the closed captions online. They don't consider Deaf people as Americans. Deaf people legally have the same rights as hearing people do to watch news with audio & closed caption online.

• Words of Wisdom

  by Junglebilly

  Are these two famous idioms To CNN unknown? "Don't fix what isn't broken." "Leave well enough alone."

• Hate the new update

  by Leviticus tttttt

  It's ugly, it's buggy, and it has nothing interesting on it. It is less like news and closer to an entertainment info app now. Also, I hate that most everything is now a video, I want to read the stories, not have to watch an ad then a video. Bring back the old version or fix this one, otherwise I have to delete.

• Love the app--hate update

  by Hokiemama

  Is there anyway to change the font size ? I can't read it that large!

• This is "meh" cnn

  by Egap420

  Not that great, so so. The way videos launch is annoying, they used to launch in same browser window which was fine, now they launch in their own separate browser. If you stop video early, you have to press back on top upper left of page. Very annoying. It should just take you back to previous videos if you end video. Also, you can't see the time anymore on top of iPad or iPhone while viewing video. Only if you start vid, stop it, then start it again. Also when I get a notice of breaking news and click on it, it used to actually take you to that breaking news article or video. Now it just opens the app and can't be found. There isn't even a breaking news section.

• Too many videos

  by Samson802

  I mostly read articles than watch videos on my ipad or iPhone. For instance I'm at a place that I have to be silent. This is impossible with the CNN app.

• Dani 1004

  by Dani1004

  Great place to get your days news quickly and accurately. I love it...I use it faithfully.

• GOOD APP

  by A GREAT DAY

  Overall CNN. Is an excellent app. It's my favorite news app. However, if you r using an ipad, like I do, it's very easy to touch an area and be off to an ad never to return. Happens all the time. Not a problem with other news apps

• Update much

  by Bored w CNN

  Stories remain on news feed WAY too long.

• Don't know how much longer I can give it

  by A high school math teacher

  I like the interface, but the content is getting worse and worse. The home screen is increasingly filled with promotions and stale articles that seem to stay for weeks. I no longer rely on the CNN App as my primary news source. I like their addition of the local weather forecast to the home page, but it's wrong. The forecast days do not agree with the forecast when you open the article. The days are shifted by one day.

• Great News

  by Geraldine Mary I

  Hits all the important news items. Loads slowly. Sometimes it won't bring up a video

• Had to remove CNN for IPad

  by johngameropa

  I could not take it any longer so I removed this app from my IPad. The slow GUI interface and the AD's were just too much to take with this app. I'd rather buy a newspaper.

• Love it

  by andre bryan

  Love it

• Awful app layout and no search

  by margie string bean

  I don't care for the layout on the iPad app. The large blocks with the news stories and scrolling through them is a waste of time. I am old school, no jazz, just give me a list of stories. For the life of me, I can't find a search field. I wanted to show a news story I had read to a friend and had no vehicle to search for. If it's there, I can't find it.

• Outstanding App

  by Jjmjay

  I've had iPad since Christmas. CNN app is excellent. It's precise, catchy & with the right amount of detail. Plus a good mix of videos and articles.

• Love CNN

  by Hbeahm

  Better than FOX news

• Great App

  by Tlmxxxxx

  Just love the app and the updates.

• New update is ugly!!

  by TonyChow

  The previous version had a great layout and colors. The new one has a terribly ugly layout with poor formatting. It has very ugly black text on white spaces for each story. There is too much inconsistent white spacing between the stories. Inside each story the text starts on the right but there is a large gap underneath the picture creating a dangling island of text. Local community hoa or church newsletters look better than this. Very amateur looking. I can't believe how much effort was spent to make it look worse. CNN should consider firing the design firm who helped create the new look. Does anyone know how to revert back to previous version of app. I regret not saving the old version. I didn't think it would this bad.

• Nice UI

  by Czrich86

  The app has a nice user interface and works pretty well on the iPad mini. Take the CNN news content as you will, but as an app I find it to be pretty good.

• Can't Exit Ads

  by Olinks

  I was trying to read a news story when a Geiko ad popped up. There was no way to exit the ad. I had to uninstall the CNN ap and reinstall.

• Worth your time

  by GaTech Man

  Generally good content, timely items, entertaining, small items are too many windows of same story, some go too many days.

• Good

  by Dchockey 27

  I find this app to be very useful as to letting me in on the news during the day.

• Not all updates...

  by Watch diva

  Not all updates are a good thing. This most recent update falls into that category.

• S L O W W W

  by ShellMurr

  Used to be decent in speed. Now the slowest app on the iPad. Period. Good content. Super sluggish. Will likely just delete it.

• Hate watching videos!

  by FridayGirl

  This app needs a serious update when it comes to watching videos. Whenever I watch a video, I find it very difficult to exit back to the home screen - this app takes me directly to another ad with no discernible exit. Please fix this unbelievable annoyance!!!

• Story posted 22 days ago STILL up!

  by Punatik

  Aside from the latest bad update there are tons of ads and the news never changes. There are new stories happening in the world EVERYDAY, cnn!

• Way too many commercials!

  by memitchum

  I am deleting this app. The commercials come too frequently.

• Great videos

  by Curious Val

  Most news channels do not have videos. CNN videos with has most articles.

• Like the content, don't want videos

  by Shadowmarie

  I like the news on cnn and how up to date it is, but I want more text and less videos! I don't have time to watch videos and am often in public or reading in bed. I skip everything that is a video and there's not much left!

• Great App

  by L. Murray, II

  Works great. Easy to navigate.

• CNN for iPad

  by CNN iPad app

  I enjoy having this app on my phone. I am frustrated by the number of news stories that are video only on this app. At work, I can not don headphones to listen but I can view silently on my iPad.

• What ever!!!

  by Steel8376

  Hey CNN good job with the news! That's all I care about. The logo does not matter to me honestly. I just like that you give me the news. Thank you CNN.

• Great App

  by Dreew2

  Looks good and gives me what I need!

• Informative

  by Deb1455

  I love CNN news. There app for my IPad works perfect.

• Help

  by Jojoderat

  I just want to see/read the news, but instead I cannot get out of the Goldman Sachs advertisement/website. It will not go away even after exiting the app and reopening it. That surely cannot be how the app software intends it to be, can it? Either way, it needs to be changed.

• A work in progress..

  by Garya2z

  Buggy, and I hate bugs

• Awful update!

  by Sparrow65

  Talk about going round your butt to get to your elbow, trying to navigate this app is ridiculous, I still can't find the latest news update page, if it still has one?! I loved this apps last version, this complete change of look and information has ruined it all, sadly, I will be deleting.

• Awful update!

  by Sparrow65

  Talk about going round your butt to get to your elbow, trying to navigate this app is ridiculous, I still can't find the latest news update page, if it still has one?! I loved this apps last version, this complete change of look and information has ruined it all, sadly, I will be deleting.

• Why do you keep the same story up for WEEKS?

  by movie watcher2

  CNN is my first, go to app for daily news, but I do get tired of seeing one report posted for more than a week, a month, or longer. You begin to cross over in to commercial social media. Why. And yes the advertisements are an annoying reality.

• Fix the bugs - please!!

  by Arrrrggghhh&

  Love having CNN TV on the iPad but it's insanely buggy. I constantly have to delete and reinstall the app. Tap on live TV, starts to load, spins spins spins then goes to sleep - even on a super fast connection. I've learned that if you're really committed to using it watch live tv you can if you're patient and willing to invest the time and effort in continually deleting and reinstalling the app. I generally have to delete and reinstall at least once a day. Crazy. Wow a year since I wrote this review and still insanely buggy. Deleting and reinstalling generally fixes most issues but at this point I've totally lost count of how many times I've downloaded. who's maintaining the app? high School interns?! ;-D

• CNN App is great

  by T75G

  I depend on this app for news on the go.

• My Daily Morning Read

  by Exval

  This is how I try to start my day. CNN is clear, informative and easy to navigate.

• Horrible!

  by DC soccer#23

  Same stories weeks after they appear, seems to lack any new stories. CNN use to be 24/7 news but according to this app it only has new stories every couple of weeks. The story of 5 people who survived a airplane crash has been on for over a month. Hope they actually read this review and fix it!

• News for those who care about news!

  by Kidslibrarian

  This is the first app I installed on my new iPad and I love being able to get the same unbiased news I count on when I watch it on television!

• Crappy update

  by BBajema

  Locks up, changing sections sometimes doesn't work. You can get shunted off to a blog post and have no way to return, except reboot the device.

• Justaviewer

  by Chri5tyLee

  I like the old version better. This new version has several glitches and is aestatically unapealling. I would like less video clips, because of the ads and often times the clip is either too short for all that wait or too long to be a venette. The are stories that have been on the "Top Stories" for a month, so it needs to be updated more often. And a broader spectrum of stories, the same story will appear rehashed 10 different ways. The older version ran smoother and had a polished look.

• Good App

  by Jrocka123

  I like this app a lot. It's easy to navigate.

• Not very user-friendly

  by BL on iPhone

  Don't know what cnn leeks on changing the home page layout. I watch the live TV from time to time but it's position has been everywhere!

• Almost good

  by Woahcoolness

  Please add a menu so I can open the current story in safari, otherwise a very easy to use and simple interface.

• App ok but so many errors in pages

  by Infogypsy

  I don't recommend using the CNN site although I suppose the app is okay. It opens with ease but the content is so exploitive with silly errors. Today 1-26-14 for instance, the article was about Rand Paul but instead they'd used a photo of Huckebee. Oh dear.

• Very useful news

  by Gau1987

  Had few problems with the app showing the content few times. Else highly recommended.

• Probably the best News format

  by SlavicFury

  Since overall among cable media outlets CNN reports more news than biased commentary, they are my main source of internet news. I have used the app for several years and it has improved. I currently use it on the new iPad air and iPhone. The app has a very clean and simple format, extremely user friendly. Occasionally, videos are still slow to load or do not load it all, even with the best Internet connections, but I find this true of all news outlet apps and formats.

• Not about content

  by Tepake

  Works fine. Content is so-so.

• Awesome app

  by Peterporter

  This app is awesome for finding out the latest breaking news on the go. Good job CNN!!!

• Terrible App

  by Bgtrdex

  There is absolutely no original content on this app. It simply replays clip after clip of their broadcast content, but you have to sit through a 30-second commercial before every video. Want to see four clips? Then you had better be prepared to sit through the same commercial four times. Only an advertising executive could love this app! Horrible!

• CNN upgrade.

  by Neilg17

  Excellent and visually appealing upgrade.

• Mediocre

  by Deb1359

  Very little substance, not up to date news, advertising and old stories fill up much of the unattractive home page.

• new update is awful

  by luciolak21

  Please bring old CNN layout back where you could hit one button from main screen to watch CNN live and navigate easily through stories instead of huge jumbo sized pics. Uggh.

• Dam great app !

  by Nightflyer2131

  Yea i said dam cause its pretty great app if i say so myself it's to the point and there no flipping back and fourth, hate tht had it so confusing deleted tht app on first day. This one is worth it all your news very easy to youse and words r not super small love tht its best by far !

• New CNN update

  by susan davies

  Awful. It really is like a tabloid. How long do we really need to see " I was the only survivor of a plane crash" ? Each reincarnation is worse than the previous one.

• Reliable and current news reports

  by 21ped

  I visit this app several times a day. The news reports provide current local and national facts that help me to know what is going on.

• Getting better

  by Bostonaudi

  The ipad app improves with each version. I have to agree with other comments regarding CNN's news content, it's not what it was. Apparently there isn't enough money in enlivening news any longer, so it's reverting to news infotainment as the new approach, much like a Fox News but not quite so blatantly political.

• Fluffy news

  by Viewer09s

  With the last few weeks, the content in the CNN app has become drivel. It lacks real substance and is often stale. Please bring back the real news.

• Dumbing it down was dumb

  by TheDogHatesThisOne

  I guess the average user can't read, so more pictures are needed. But now it takes much too long to scan. Big mistake, CNN

• Boo to this update

  by Djm283

  Very poorly done update. On my first story click, a commercial fills the page and I had no way to remove it or cancel the story link

• CNN

  by Cowgirl59

  Well I am not happy cnn most are not have closed caption it only few cc on cnn watch tv thank u

• App is ok

  by John Hergenhan

  Little confusing to navigate. And any pop ups notifications don't take you direct to that article. It would be nice if I clicked on the notification that it would take me to that article, but instead I have to hunt for it.

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