# The Sydney Morning Herald

> Australian news app with breaking headlines, podcasts, and personalized feeds. (iPhone/iPad app by Fairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand Pty Limited.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-sydney-morning-herald/id1411569831 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Fairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand Pty Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/319908649)
- Category: News, Magazines & Newspapers
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 73 App Store ratings · 168 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 16.0 · 140 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2018-11-05
- Data updated: 2026-08-31
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-sydney-morning-herald/id1411569831/reviews.md

## What is The Sydney Morning Herald?

Get straight to the stories that matter with the Herald app. Top Stories and push notifications keep you up to date with breaking headlines while our Podcast catalogue lets you tune into thought-provoking audio storytelling and discussions from our newsroom. My News lets you customise your feed, showing the topics you're interested in, in the order you want them.

The app is free to download. You can unlock unlimited access to all content with a Starter Digital subscription through the App Store. To unlock premium features such as Today's Paper and puzzles including Daily Crosswords and Daily Sudoku, you can subscribe to Premium Digital via in-app purchase.

Additional information about Apple subscriptions:

- Purchase of an auto-renewable, monthly subscription is required to access content on The Sydney Morning Herald app

- Starter Digital subscriptions are available for AU$25.99 per month (or local currency equivalent)

- Premium Digital subscriptions are available for AU$37.49 per month (or local currency equivalent)

- Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase

- Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your iTunes App Store Account Settings after purchase

- Your iTunes account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period

- No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period

Terms of use and privacy policy apply when accessing content via The Sydney Morning Herald app

- Privacy policy: https://login.nine.com.au/privacy?client_id=smh

- Terms and conditions: https://login.nine.com.au/terms?client_id=smh

## Key features

- Breaking news alerts
- Customizable news feed
- Podcast library
- Audio storytelling
- Daily puzzles
- Today's Paper

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Starter Digital | $17.99 | per month |
| Premium Digital | $24.99 | per month |


## Chart rankings

- #160 in Top Grossing · Magazines & Newspapers (US App Store)

## What do users think of The Sydney Morning Herald?

Overall sentiment: neutral

**Pros**

- 🗞️ Reliable news source
- 📰 Comprehensive coverage
- 🔍 Balanced and objective reporting
- 🧠 Insightful analysis and opinion pieces
- 🧩 Enjoyable puzzles and crosswords

**Cons**

- 🐛 Buggy and unstable app
- 📦 Large storage footprint
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find content
- 🤑 Expensive subscription
- 🔄 Inconsistent user experience across updates

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes and freezes
- Login issues and lost subscription access
- Unreliable content downloads
- Scrolling and navigation problems
- Incorrect or missing article content

**Most requested features**

- Allow offline reading of downloaded content
- Improve search functionality
- Provide more customization options
- Integrate with other apps and services
- Enhance accessibility features

## Recent user reviews (10 of 168)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-sydney-morning-herald/id1411569831/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Login required for access

*2026-05-27*

Continuation of my online subscription is getting untenable because of the inconvenience of having to login EVERY time I access my copy. 
If I accessed the SMH and read the entire paper in one go, I would only need to login ONCE, but I like to dip into the SMH at least a few times a day and every time I have to login.
And there are the usual annoyances involved with logging in, like, in the middle of trying to do this, a flashing demand, “change your password”, comes up and I have to insist No and start all over again. 

I enjoy not just the articles in the SMH, but the range of articles as well but it’s becoming too tedious for this 84 year old to continue her subscription.

### 4/5 — Functional, clean app

*2026-05-02, version 6.7.0*

My only complaint with the SMH app, is the comments section for articles does not appear in the app. This is disappointing because it means I switch back to the web browser just to read the comments. I hope the app developers are working on this.

### 3/5 — Paid for news, still get ads

*2026-04-04, version 6.5.0*

Holy sell out, we ain’t 90 year olds reading a paper news paper with ads slapped all over. It costs almost nothing to host digital content, there’s no reason for paid digital content to run ads

### 5/5 — Keeps getting better

*2026-03-03, version 6.4.0*

Love the new modern look

### 5/5 — Excellent

*2026-02-21, version 6.3.3*

New subscriber here, really enjoying the app

### 5/5 — App Logo

*2026-01-23, version 6.3.0*

Update your app logo you silly geese.

### 2/5 — Storage pig

*2025-12-28, version 6.2.3*

Have no idea why this needs to consume 2gb storage on my phone

### 4/5 — App fixed - but why the Olympic rings on the icon?

*2025-12-10, version 6.2.0*

It seems the glitchy scrolling bug has been fixed. I don’t think I’ve noticed it in some time. Great work!

The app otherwise works well. I much prefer the layout over other news app. Though I’m not all that big on the short videos. And I can’t stand the click bait headlines - it’s a real turn off for something paid

### 2/5 — Ok

*2025-11-21, version 6.0.2*

Not the greatest quality - quite where it’s bias lies and editorials and opinions aren’t crisp or very insightful

### 1/5 — Sharing App

*2025-09-21, version 5.7.0*

It is impossible to share this app with my family

## Frequently asked questions about The Sydney Morning Herald

### What does The Sydney Morning Herald app offer?

The app provides breaking news headlines with push notifications, a podcast catalog for audio storytelling and discussions, and a 'My News' feature to customize your feed with topics of interest. It aims to deliver the stories that matter most to you.

### How can I access all content and premium features?

You can unlock unlimited access to all content with a Starter Digital subscription. For premium features like 'Today's Paper' and puzzles (Daily Crosswords, Daily Sudoku), you can subscribe to Premium Digital via in-app purchase.

### What are the subscription costs?

Starter Digital subscriptions are available for AU$25.99 per month. Premium Digital subscriptions are available for AU$37.49 per month. These prices may vary based on your local currency equivalent.

### Is the app free to download?

Yes, the app is free to download. However, to access unlimited content and premium features, a digital subscription is required.

### Can I cancel my subscription?

Subscriptions are auto-renewable. You can turn off auto-renewal at least 24 hours before the end of the current period by going to your iTunes App Store Account Settings. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during an active subscription period.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 6.10.0 — 2026-07-20

This update includes bug fixes to ensure a smoother reading experience.

### 6.9.0 — 2026-06-23

Track live match scores at a glance with our FIFA scoreboard widget, now available right on your homepage and inside FIFA articles!

### 6.8.2 — 2026-06-04

This update includes bug fixes and performance improvements for quizzes, resolving issues with unexpected reloads and restoring pinch-to-zoom capabilities.

### 6.8.1 — 2026-05-27

This update includes performance improvements and bug fixes to ensure a smoother reading experience.

### 6.8.0 — 2026-05-26

This update includes performance improvements and bug fixes to ensure a smoother reading experience.

## Apps similar to The Sydney Morning Herald

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [All the News - Australia](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/all-the-news-australia/id1528625888) | 4.9 (21) | Free | News |
| [The Nightly](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-nightly/id6469956511) | — | Free | News |
| [The West Australian](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-west-australian/id1198233691) | — | Free | News |
| [Australia Channel](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/australia-channel/id1326104036) | 2.9 (7) | Free | News |
| [Canberra Times](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/canberra-times/id1527269999) | 4.6 (10) | Free | News |
| [ABC News](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-news/id306583229) | 4.6 (117) | Free | News |

## More apps by Fairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand Pty Limited

- [Australian Financial Review](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/australian-financial-review/id524599864)
- [The Age](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-age/id1411569220)
- [Good Food](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/good-food/id6472001316)

All apps by Fairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand Pty Limited: https://appshunter.io/developer/319908649

## Related topics

[the sydney morning herald](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/the-sydney-morning-herald) · [smh](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/smh)

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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 2026-08-31.*