RNZ vs The Central App
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RNZ
Access New Zealand's public broadcaster's news, radio stations, podcasts, and on-demand video and audio content. Enjoy a user-friendly interface with features like bookmarking, favorites, and a play queue for personalized listening. Listen live or offline, and receive breaking news alerts.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
The Central App
This app provides comprehensive local information for Central Otago, including news, weather, and event listings. Access real-time updates on road conditions and community happenings directly on your smartphone.
- Local news updates
- Weather forecasts
- Road condition reports
- Event listings
- Community information
Read full descriptionHide full description
Everything you need to know about living, working and playing in Central Otago - all in ONE place. The Central App features local news, weather, road conditions, information, events and much, much more. Now you've got all the information you need to hand, whenever and wherever you are, all on your smartphone. Download The Central App today (it's FREE!) and stay informed about what's happening in your community. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: - Premium subscriptions provide access to exclusive content and features - Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase - You can manage and cancel your subscriptions via the profile page or by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase Terms of Use: You can review the standard on Apple's website (https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/) Privacy Policy: You can find the developer's privacy practices in the Central App Privacy Statement (https://centralapp.nz/PrivacyStatement)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: The Central App at 80% against RNZ's 41%. RNZ's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. The Central App sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. RNZ asks for nothing beyond the download.
RNZ ships an update every 3 months, The Central App every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RNZ | The Central App |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (17 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 41.4% of reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | +17 |
| Developer | Radio New Zealand | THE INLAND APP COMPANY LIMITED |
Customer experience
RNZ
The Central App
Bugs and requests
RNZ
Reported bugs
12 issues- 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
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 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
Requested features
13 requests- Dynamic Type/adjustable font size support
- Image zoom functionality in articles
- iPad-optimized app version
- Granular notification settings (sports, crime, regional)
- Sleep timer feature
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- 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
The Central App
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
RNZ
No in-app purchases
The Central App
- Supporter programme$6.991 Month
- Koha Annual$69.991 Year
Questions
Is RNZ free?
Is The Central App free?
Do RNZ or The Central App have ads?
Which is updated more often, RNZ or The Central App?
Other comparisons















