# KCRW — user reviews > 286 indexed App Store user reviews of KCRW by KCRW, rated 2.90/5 from 382 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kcrw/id319014603/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kcrw/id319014603.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 114 · 4★ 29 · 3★ 48 · 2★ 75 · 1★ 116 ## What do users think of KCRW? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 💎 Best music station - 🎧 Excellent music selection - 🌍 Accessible from anywhere - 🔍 Helpful for music discovery **Cons** - 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently - 🔋 High battery consumption - 🔍 Difficult to navigate - 🔇 Playback issues (pausing, resuming, skipping) - 🔧 Broken functionality after updates **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes on launch - Incompatible with older iOS versions - Notification badge won't clear - Streaming cuts out frequently - Eclectic 24 playlist not updating in real-time **Most requested features** - Resume playback from where left off - Improved song/artist information display - Chromecast/AirPlay support - Ability to save/favorite songs - Landscape mode support on iPad ## Newest reviews (13 of 286) ### 2/5 — Music listening experience is so difficult *2026-07-20, version 7.3.2* What happened to the ability to either resume a show from where we stopped playing, or the ability to pick where in the show we can listen? Please bring it back! Such a step down from previous version of app. ### 3/5 — Not nearly as good as it was *2026-06-12, version 7.3.2* I have to agree. This app is nothing like the old app was. If I’m in the middle of listening to Henry and I have to leave or something I have to restart the whole show all over again and worse if I wanna skip ahead or skip back that functions gone. I’m gonna continue to listen and support and thank goodness we’re still on the radio because this app isn’t really very good it’s clunky, it doesn’t respond very well, it’s searching a lot of times, and I hope you guys find some time to fix it. ### 3/5 — come on *2026-06-09, version 7.3.2* I want to love it but listening to an ad every time. Every damn time my timer goes off is ridiculous. There are ads in the program already, I would rather have a Silent pop up ad every time I reopen the app than missing out on the LIVE broadcast because my apps pause the show for 2 seconds. ### 2/5 — Too Many Ads *2026-06-04, version 7.3.1* Love the app. Hate the new ads. More interruptions than the static from the FM radio station. ### 2/5 — Go back to old version *2026-05-24, version 7.3.1* This new version is terrible. And the Carplay function is completely nonfunctional. Why did they need to mess with it? Please fix the Carplay function, please let it load properly, please let it remember where you listening so you can pick it back up if you pause... etc etc ### 3/5 — How Do I Clear Notifications? *2026-04-22, version 7.3.0* I seem to have a ghost notification. I've explored all sections and it doesn't go away. ### 2/5 — Why? *2026-04-15, version 7.3.0* Took a perfectly good app and made it confusing and complicated. ### 2/5 — Low Quality Design *2026-04-05, version 7.2.4* Generically designed as if to be “app like” but uses none of the iOS conventions and has no personality of its own. Doesn’t show track info. Weird AirPlay integration. Fifty clicks to find a specific show. ### 2/5 — Downgraded *2026-03-23, version 7.2.4* You guys took a perfectly good app and now it’s impossible to use. You can’t navigate within an a stream and anytime you close the app. You have to start over again at the beginning of the two hour show. You can’t skip forward. What a mess. ### 3/5 — Bad interface *2026-03-12, version 7.2.4* Yep. New design made by the interns, sucks. ### 2/5 — Amazing music, bad app design *2026-02-27, version 7.2.2* -With the new app, you can’t skip to the last place you left off in a music show. This is infuriating since it often does not remember that you already listened to the first 30 minutes if you stop playing and go back to the app a few hours later. The old app had a playhead on the progress bar you could grab and drag forward, but not anymore! Why?? ### 4/5 — Improved now *2026-02-04, version 7.2.2* This is my second review for this app. (Don’t know how to edit). When they first launched the “new and improved”version, it was horrible. Seems like they’ve got the bugs figured out now. Looking forward to when the “win” becomes available. ### 1/5 — App is a mess *2026-01-20, version 7.2.2* Avid user and donor of KCRW and use the app very often. These new apps on iPad and iPhone just makes me want to use the app less. This new redesign is completely broken. Basic functions like saving songs, opening songs in Apple Music or Spotify, seeing previous saved songs are broken. Why would you push this unfinished update if the previous app was working just fine?? True a disappointment and I would compare it to Sonos epic failure of an App redesign. If this continues, I will likely stop donating and using the app. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Sleep timer *2026-07-16, version 7.3.2* Put a sleep timer please ### 1/5 — Love the station, App does not work well on CarPlay. *2026-07-15, version 7.3.2* Station the best, app does not sum No w/ CarPlay Hopefully update works better. ### 1/5 — Love Kcrw hate the app design *2026-06-14, version 7.3.2* Literally hate the app design ### 1/5 — Disgraceful that soemthing like this is released *2026-05-05, version 7.3.0* I looked forward to having this standalone app instead of just having yet another browser window to keep open. The UX is simply absolutely garbage. The code is garbage. This feels like it is a iOS / iPhone native app that they one clicked to being a MacOs app without any effort to make sure it actually works/makes sense. There are no X close out buttons. You have to use your mouse to awkwardly pull down menus - makes sense with your finger on a phone, and tricking impossible on a 32” 4K monitor at 3008xXXXX(I forget). The play/pause buttons disappear. IT FRICKING LAGS LIKE 5 SECONDS BEHIND CLICKS. This is on an M4 Mini with 32GB! 32GB! Did I mention the new UI sucks? No? Well let me tell you, the UI sucks. ### 1/5 — Notification badge. *2026-03-15, version 7.2.4* Update: I think the people developing this app actively hate it. When you open the app the first page doesn’t load anything now. Just a ‘listen live’ button that goes to another page with noting on it. Fantastic, ship it. Original: Permanent notification badge. Nothing makes it go away so had to disable in the iOS notification setting page. Bang up job over there. ### 1/5 — Terrible update *2026-03-06, version 7.2.2* I used to love this app. You could favorite shows and find them easily. Now everything is tucked away in the update. It makes absolutely no sense. Sad my membership money went to such a trash update. I reported several issues via their form and got no response. ### 1/5 — Disappointing *2026-03-04, version 7.2.2* Not a fan of the new app. You can’t scrub to a specific place of a show and all of my saved songs from the old app are gone. Definitely a downgrade across in terms of functionality and usability 👎 ### 1/5 — What happened ? *2026-02-28, version 7.2.2* This app “update” is possibly the worst update ever ! I don’t know what they were thinking - the old app was perfect ! This app is clunky does not work - can’t see play lists and even finding a show is strangely more difficult ! KISS I don’t even listen to half the shows any more and as far as finding new music for playlists- nope ! Make it better KCRW fast or you will loose more listeners ### 1/5 — NO PLAYLISTS *2026-02-13, version 7.2.2* You used to be able to see a deejay’s entire set listed, very easily visible. Now you’re lucky if you can even see the name of the current song being played. AND THE WEBSITE IS JUST AS BAD. And this is only the tip of the iceberg of problems this app has. The sheer lack of basic competence here is staggering. ### 1/5 — Bring Back the old app *2026-02-11, version 7.2.2* This new app sucks, I’ve had to make new log ins, my contribution is missing and I have this random notification that won’t go away. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — For People Who Love to Discover *2026-08-21, version 7.4.0* I’ve always loved KCRW for its taste and for introducing me to music, people, and ideas I probably wouldn’t have found on my own. The new Explore LA feature brings that same sense of discovery to the city. It feels curated rather than overwhelming, like getting recommendations from someone whose taste you actually trust. I’ve already found things I wouldn’t have come across otherwise. Such a natural extension of what makes KCRW so good. ### 5/5 — Stream live, plus other easy access *2026-07-15, version 7.3.2* KCRW rules, and this is the easiest way to digitally listen to KCRW, so it’s pretty simple. I had some bugs at first, but after updating, it’s all good. Love to enter for ticket giveaways, inside here, plus get event info. A must if you’re a member, especially! ### 5/5 — 5 stars *2026-07-14, version 7.3.2* Best app for music discovery ### 5/5 — Listen *2026-05-15, version 7.3.0* The only great thing to come out of America right now. ### 5/5 — Fine app *2026-05-01, version 7.3.0* This is a great station, and the app continues to improve. Kudos to KCRW for expanding in this area. ### 5/5 — Not Really Sure About The Complaints? *2026-04-16, version 7.3.0* Listen, I get it. The app made some changes, you can’t find your favorite shows, yadda yadda. From my experience as a new user, the app is remarkably easy to use. If your main interest is listening to the livestream, you just click on the icon on the first screen, and you’re connected. It plays while in other apps, including in navigation … meaning the tunes keep playing even while desperately trying to merge onto the 110 without ending up downtown. (As an aside, the main NPR app DOESN’T DO this.) Playing podcasts or individual episodes is also very easy; you click three buttons, max, and your favorite hosts are in your ears. With three clicks! Three!! Maximum!!! If you’re a member, all the perks are right there for you to check! You can now enter the giveaways from the app too! It’s easy! It’s simple! It works! What are we doing?! Why are we complaining?! ### 5/5 — Long time listener *2026-02-03, version 7.2.2* Only easier on the radio, I guess. ### 5/5 — The best *2026-01-16, version 7.2.2* It is truly ALL things! The good, bad and ugly. Just the way life is. ### 5/5 — No horizontal orientation on iPad *2025-10-31, version 7.1.0* Love KCRW although I miss Garth and Aaron tremendously. Hasn’t been quite the same since but this app doesn’t function properly on a horizontal layout like an iPad. Very annoying. ### 5/5 — Love the updated app! *2025-09-25, version 7.0.0* I’m loving the updated app, and that all the archived Metropolis episodes are back, saving me endless scrolling on the webpage! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*