Bloomberg

Review by eFreeware

Bloomberg is the Android app from Bloomberg LP CM, the publisher behind the business and markets coverage of the same name. It brings news, data, analysis and video together in one place, and the headline feature is a live stream of Bloomberg TV alongside the Bloomberg Originals shows.

The reason to consider it is straightforward: if business and markets coverage is what you follow, this is the publisher's own channel for it rather than a feed assembled by someone else. It has been on Google Play since October 2014 and carries a 2.8 average from 3,259 ratings, with more than a million installs, so it is a long-running app with a mixed reception rather than a new arrival.

It is a free download that contains ads and lists no in-app purchases. That combination shapes what you get: the programming is open to anyone who installs it, and advertising sits alongside it.

Live television as the centerpiece

The feature the developer leads with is the livestream of Bloomberg TV. Rather than waiting for clips to be posted, you open the app and watch the channel as it airs, which is the closest thing here to having the network on in the background while you work.

Around that stream sits a schedule of named programs. Bloomberg: The China Show, Bloomberg Surveillance, Wall Street Week and Bloomberg Technology are among the shows the app carries, so there is a reason to return at particular times of day rather than only when a story breaks. If you already follow one of those programs, having it in the same app as the written coverage saves switching between sources.

Bloomberg Originals is the second strand of video. An Optimist's Guide To The Planet, The Deal, The Circuit with Emily Chang and The Future with Hannah Fry are the examples given, and they point to a documentary and interview style of programming rather than rolling news. That mix gives the app two viewing moods: live coverage when something is happening, and longer-form shows when you want something to sit through.

News, data and analysis alongside the video

Video is only part of the package. The app also delivers business and markets news, data and analysis, which is the written side of the same editorial operation. For anyone who tracks markets, that combination matters: a story and the numbers behind it in one place, with the television coverage available when a spoken explanation is more useful than a page of text.

The developer frames the whole product as uncovering the context behind the story, which is a fair description of what business journalism at this scale tries to do. In practice, that means the app is built for readers and viewers who want interpretation, not just headlines.

Because it is the publisher's own app, the news, the data and the video come from a single editorial source. That consistency is the appeal; you are not piecing together coverage from several outlets to get a full picture of a market day.

What the app asks of you

The download costs nothing, and the app lists no in-app purchases, so there is no paywall to negotiate inside it. It does contain ads, which is the trade you make for free access to the programming.

The practical requirement is simpler than a subscription: you need the time to watch. A live channel rewards people who can keep it running, whether on a second screen while they work or during a quiet stretch of the day.

The most recent update adds support for the Android 15 release, which keeps the app current with the platform. The content rating is Everyone, and the app includes a feedback link for questions and comments if something does not work as you expect.

Getting the most from a live channel

The sensible approach with an app like this is to decide which of the two halves you actually want. If it is the live channel, learn when your preferred programs air and treat the app as an appointment rather than something to browse. Each of the three shows has a distinct audience and pace.

If it is the written side you are after, the video becomes a supplement: something to open when a story needs more explanation than an article gives. The Originals shows work better as deliberate viewing than as background, since they are built as complete programs rather than updates.

The rating is worth weighing honestly. A 2.8 average across 3,259 ratings suggests plenty of people have found something to dislike, and with ads in the mix, that is not surprising for a free news app. My advice is to judge it against what you want from it: a free route to Bloomberg's television output and its markets coverage, with advertising along the way.

A free window on Bloomberg's television and markets desk

Bloomberg is worth installing if you follow business and markets news and want the publisher's own coverage, including a live television stream and its documentary-style Originals, without paying for it. The combination of written analysis, data and video in one app is the strongest argument for it, and the Android 15 update keeps it aligned with current devices.

It suits viewers who will use the live channel regularly and readers who want markets coverage from a single source. The advertising is part of the deal, and the middling rating is a reminder that free access comes with compromises.

For anyone whose interest in business news extends to watching it as well as reading it, this is a reasonable free addition to a phone or tablet. Install it expecting a television channel and a news desk in one place, and it does what it says.

What's new in version 3.100.2

support the latest Android 15 release