# RNZ — Radio New Zealand

> New Zealand's ad-free public broadcaster for news, radio, podcasts, and on-demand audio/video. (iPhone/iPad app by Radio New Zealand.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rnz/id407890305 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Radio New Zealand](https://appshunter.io/developer/407890308)
- Category: News, Entertainment
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.60/5 from 17 App Store ratings · 139 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 9+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 51 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2010-12-14
- Data updated: 2026-09-04
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rnz/id407890305/reviews.md

## What is RNZ?

RNZ (Radio New Zealand) is New Zealand’s 100% ad-free, multimedia public broadcaster. Follow the latest breaking news, listen live to your favourite RNZ radio stations, programmes and podcasts and enjoy video or audio on demand - anytime, anywhere with the new RNZ app for iPhone.

The all-new app is clear and simple to use, with bookmarking, favourites, sharing and options to personalise your experience – including a great new play queue and player.

New features and highlights:
• Get breaking news alerts, video and live coverage on a homepage news feed 
• Listen live to all RNZ’s radio stations – National, Pacific and Concert - plus the latest RNZ news bulletins, live blogs and live-streamed video
• All-new build eliminates crashes and bugs and ensures audio play reliability
• Live streaming sounds better than ever
• New design is clear and simple to use
• Easily discover all RNZ’s great programmes, podcasts and series, in their entirety
• Add whole programmes, podcasts or individual audio items to your play queue for listening later or downloading for offline use
• Favourite or bookmark to ‘My RNZ’ and easily find and listen to the latest content from all your favourite radio programmes
• Listen offline without internet access

The app was designed and developed in partnership with Alphero.

If you have any feedback, a feature request, or wish to report an issue, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us at appproject@radionz.co.nz.

## Key features

- Breaking news alerts and live coverage
- Live streaming of all RNZ radio stations
- On-demand programmes, podcasts, and series
- Play queue for listening later or offline
- Offline listening without internet access
- Personalization with favorites and bookmarks

## What do users think of RNZ?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 📰 High-quality, ad-free news content
- 🌙 Dark mode implementation (recently added)
- 🎙️ Excellent radio streaming and podcasts
- 🆓 Free access to comprehensive news
- 📱 Generally user-friendly interface
- 🔕 Customizable notification controls
- 🌍 Good international news coverage
- 💾 Ability to save and download content

**Cons**

- 🐛 App crashes and freezes frequently
- 📏 Text size too small, poor accessibility
- 🔊 Audio playback stops when app backgrounded
- 📱 Not optimized for iPad (phone-sized view)
- 🔗 Many articles redirect to external browser
- 🔔 Excessive 'breaking news' notifications despite filters
- 🖼️ Dark mode breaks image/graph readability
- ⚠️ HomePod connection drops
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🧭 Confusing navigation and layout
- ⏱️ Slow load times
- 🔄 App requires frequent reinstalls to function

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App stops playing audio when screen locks
- Crashes on iPhone 14 with iOS 18.5
- HomePod connection drops after seconds
- News items fail to open randomly
- Swipe-to-go-back navigation broken
- App cuts out mid-playback
- Buffering and stopping issues
- Dark mode renders graph legends unreadable
- iPad display shows narrow phone-sized view
- News articles stuck on stale cached versions
- Playback jumps back/forward during live streams
- App hangs when opening news items

**Most requested features**

- Dynamic Type/adjustable font size support
- Image zoom functionality in articles
- iPad-optimized app version
- Granular notification settings (sports, crime, regional)
- Sleep timer feature
- Skip forward/backward 30-second buttons
- Home button on every page
- Widget for breaking news
- Better CarPlay functionality
- Direct speaker/Sonos integration
- Program schedule display in app
- Offline access to downloaded content
- Siri voice command support

## Recent user reviews (10 of 139)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rnz/id407890305/reviews.md

### 3/5 — No option to disable spoilers

*2026-08-15, version 4.3.1*

If you’re going to post sports score lines as “breaking news” then there should be an option to disable that. A bit ridiculous to have sports notifications disabled and still get sports headlines.

### 1/5 — The app developers wiped all my favourites!!

*2026-08-15, version 4.3.1*

This app is a disgrace! the people who designed it need to be held accountable. i've had years worth of saved interviews stored in the app but the app developers wiped everything in their latest update? Why?

Also now you can't even enlarge the screen to see the photographs as that is jammed solid. Why?

The app is actually quite hard to navigate when you are new to it. But I've used this app for several years now I am bitterly disappointed in what's happened. I suggest RNZ get rid of these incompetent developers and hire a new team because they have  dropped the ball. It's an appalling update!

### 5/5 — Update deleted my queued list

*2026-08-10, version 4.3.1*

Been using the RNZ app for years, mainly for curating my own replay radio list from favourite shows on NatRad. Shocked to open the app this morning to find … nothing! Update on Friday last had wiped 70+ items from my “to listen” list, along with all my bookmarked shows. WTF? Boring commute to work followed, as I painstakingly re-selected stuff I wanted to hear. Better not be wiped again (might have to drop RNZ and listen to ZB … as-if)

### 1/5 — Dynamic text size needed

*2026-07-24, version 4.3*

Awesome app, though can we just have a way to change text size, please asap, thank you!

### 4/5 — Fine but some glitches…

*2026-06-21, version 4.2.4*

I’ve been delighted with this app as a great source of news though some odd problems on my ipad:
1. Leaving the app and returning later in the day does not reset and update the news unless quit the app completely and re-open

2. This is a new one, didn’t happen on earlier versions. News articles which send to a ‘read the article’ link rather then directly to article text open a full page catalogue of ‘RNZ Sections’ right over the top of the text…rendering it useless. This did not happen on previous version, and has never happened on the android version.

### 1/5 — Notification spam

*2026-06-11, version 4.2.4*

I set my notification settings up to be breaking news only. It seems pretty much everything is classified as this, for example “is your predictive text getting worse? you’re not imagining it” doesn’t seem like breaking news.

### 2/5 — Crashes on open

*2026-04-30, version 4.2.4*

It’s been crashing immediately on opening since the last update. Latest iOS, iPhone 15. 
Still waiting for an update.
It’s a good app, when it’s working. Other than the repeated stories, which is a little unusual.

### 4/5 — Why can’t I zoom images

*2026-04-25*

Great app but only News app I know of where you cannot zoom images. Not great if your eyesight is poor :-(

### 1/5 — Unreliable at opening

*2026-04-17, version 4.2.4*

RNZ app will come up with error of “Something is wrong”. Pity

### 2/5 — Not fit for purpose

*2026-04-10, version 4.2.4*

This app is maddening and the state broadcaster has a responsibility to do better. 

It frequently crashes, the audio stops all the time even when it says it’s playing, the search function is a joke, as is the ‘now playing’ function which often bears no resemblance to scheduling, not to mention the screen lock bug mentioned in many other reviews.

When was it last updated for god’s sake?!

## Frequently asked questions about RNZ

### What does the RNZ app do?

The RNZ app provides access to New Zealand's 100% ad-free public broadcaster. You can follow breaking news, listen live to RNZ radio stations (National, Pacific, Concert), and enjoy programmes, podcasts, and video on demand anytime, anywhere.

### What are the key features of the RNZ app?

Key features include breaking news alerts, live streaming of all RNZ radio stations, a comprehensive library of programmes and podcasts, a play queue for organizing listening, offline listening capabilities, and personalization options like favorites and bookmarks.

### Is the RNZ app free to use?

Yes, the RNZ app is completely free to download and use. It is also 100% ad-free, ensuring an uninterrupted listening experience.

### Can I listen to content offline with the RNZ app?

Yes, you can download programmes, podcasts, or individual audio items to your play queue for offline listening. This allows you to enjoy content without an internet connection.

### What kind of content can I find on the RNZ app?

The app offers a wide range of content including breaking news, live radio broadcasts from National, Pacific, and Concert stations, news bulletins, live blogs, live-streamed video, and a full collection of RNZ's programmes, podcasts, and series.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.3.2 — 2026-08-16

Bug fixes and patches

### 4.3.1 — 2026-08-09

Bug fixes and patches

### 4.3 — 2026-07-19

You can now read our Life content directly in the app, so there's no need to switch to the RNZ website.

We've also made maintenance updates and performance improvements to help keep the app running smoothly.

### 4.2.4 — 2026-02-05

A maintenance release to ensure the app is running smoothly for you.

### 4.2.2 — 2025-11-09

- TAHI has been removed from ‘On air’ streaming options.
- Existing episodes of The TAHI Podcast remain available in the Podcasts section.

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*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 2026-09-04.*