Report updated Apr 6, 2026
SmartNews: Breaking News
v26.4.10General news consumers who value efficiency, local relevance, and a mix of high-quality journalism and lifestyle content.
What Is SmartNews: Breaking News?
Launched Mar 26, 2013
Updated Apr 2026
What users think iIndependent intel reports to help builders create better apps or enhance existing ones. Still in beta, accuracy and relevancy get better every day. For informational purposes only.
What does it look like?
What are the key features?
A subscription service providing access to premium business news and exclusive content.
Location-based news, traffic, weather, and community event updates.
AI-powered summaries and insights for news articles to help users grasp information quickly.
Earn points and access exclusive coupons for local businesses and retailers.
Personalized news feed based on user passions and interests.
Ability to download and read news articles without an active internet connection.
What do users think? iIndependent intel reports to help builders create better apps or enhance existing ones. Still in beta, accuracy and relevancy get better every day. For informational purposes only.
“Recent user voice shows a mixed sentiment. Users appreciate content variety and timeliness and customization options, but report excessive and intrusive advertising and frustrating rewards/points system.”
What Users Love
Great app to stay on top of the world, national and local news!
I never get bored reading from so many publishers.
You can set the exact times of day you want push notifications
highlight particular news topics that interest you
Pain Points
Ads are getting way out of hand.
Ads have volume turned on by default (plays audio even when your phone is on mute).
The new Smartnews rewards points system is a joke !!
Stop telling me read articles for points.
Articles still do not always load.
every time I view an article it freezes and kicks me out
High confidence · 99 reviews available
How is it ranked?
| Chart | Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Free | #38 | ▼1 |
What are the pros and cons?
Pros
- Strong hyper-local news engine
- Partnerships with premium publishers
- AI-powered summarization technology
- Massive user base and brand recognition
Cons
- Intrusive ad experience (auto-play audio)
- Declining sentiment due to rewards system friction
- Android performance issues and stability
- High mobile data consumption
What is the market outlook?
Growth Opportunities
- Refine AI summaries to compete with AI-first startups
- Simplify rewards to focus on user retention
- Expand premium business content for B2B growth
Market Threats
- NewsBreak's dominance in hyper-local news
- User churn to cleaner interfaces (Apple News, Feedly)
- Disruption from AI-first summary apps like Particle
Who competes with SmartNews: Breaking News?
The Nemesis
NewsBreak: Local News & Alerts
★4.8 (1349K)Particle Media Inc.
Directly mirrors SmartNews's focus on hyper-local news, weather, and AI-driven aggregation for a general consumer audience.
Directly mirrors SmartNews's focus on hyper-local news, weather, and AI-driven aggregation for a general consumer audience.
Contenders
Broad aggregator with a heavy focus on breaking news, video content, and personalized curation.
Morning Audio Digests
Feedly - Smart News Reader
Feedly Inc.
An advanced curation tool that users often switch from (or to) for more control over specific publisher feeds.
An advanced curation tool that users often switch from (or to) for more control over specific publisher feeds.
Pocket City
Codebrew Games Inc.
Competes on the offline reading and curated 'best of the web' functionality highlighted in SmartNews's press reviews.
Competes on the offline reading and curated 'best of the web' functionality highlighted in SmartNews's press reviews.
Peers
911 Dispatch
Christopher Coudriet
Focuses exclusively on the hyper-local community news segment that SmartNews is aggressively expanding into.
Focuses exclusively on the hyper-local community news segment that SmartNews is aggressively expanding into.
AP News
The Associated Press
A primary source for the 'trustworthy breaking coverage' SmartNews promises, often used by the same user base.
A primary source for the 'trustworthy breaking coverage' SmartNews promises, often used by the same user base.
USA TODAY PLAY Crossword+
USA TODAY
A major publisher partner that also competes for the same general news audience on mobile.
A major publisher partner that also competes for the same general news audience on mobile.
New Kids on the Block
Particle Generator
Heng Jia Liang
A new AI-first news aggregator focused on multi-perspective summaries, directly challenging SmartNews AI.
A new AI-first news aggregator focused on multi-perspective summaries, directly challenging SmartNews AI.
What are the key takeaways?
SmartNews: Breaking News is a divisive news app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.2/5 rating from 1.6M reviews, it receives mixed feedback from users. Users particularly appreciate content variety and timeliness, though excessive and intrusive advertising remains a common concern.
Best for: General news consumers who value efficiency, local relevance, and a mix of high-quality journalism and lifestyle content.
How much does it cost?
Model: freemium
The app leverages a high-volume free user base for ad revenue while attempting to convert power users to a premium business content subscription.
iOS Version
26.4.10
Android Version
26.3.51
Release Date
Mar 26, 2013
iOS Price
Free
Android Price
Free
Developer
SmartNews, Inc.