The Daily Show Comes to iOS

Posted by Brad Hilderbrand on December 13th, 2010
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Though viewers have been able to watch The Daily Show online for quite a while now, the show never had a dedicated app, until now. MTV and Comedy Central have launched the official Daily Show app for iOS devices, so now you can easily access Jon Stewart and company with but a tap. Even better, it's a universal app so download it once and you're set for all devices. This truly is a moment of Zen.

The app includes features such as a quote of the day from the show and an accompanying video clip. There's also an archive of videos which can be accessed at any time, as well as a schedule of upcoming episodes and the ability to set reminders for upcoming shows. On top of that there's also a search function by topic as well as Twitter integration, so you'll have nearly all aspects of the show at your fingertips.

What the app doesn't feature is full episodes of The Daily Show, and that might be a deal breaker for many. The show is already available for free online, and can be watched on iOS devices by folks using Flash-enabled browsers like Skyfire. Also, with full free episodes online, what's the incentive to pay $1.99 for an app that only provides short clips? While this would be a fine free companion app, it's hard to find justification to ask users to pay for something which gives them less than what the free option offers.

While we wouldn't rule out the possibility that a future update could add full episodes, the app in its current form is hard to recommend. Diehard Daily Show fans who can't ever get enough Stewart may enjoy this app for the extra content it offers, but the vast majority of the populace is probably better off simply watching the show from its homepage on a Flash-compatible browser.