The New Yorker

I really detest this app, which has a number of infuriating characteristics. First, the app defaults to the Top Stories tab even if it’s been only about an hour since you’ve been in the middle of a story in the Magazine tab. Second, while it will keep your place in a story, it will not keep you place in your downloaded magazines. That is, after its default to Top Stories, you need to locate both the issue you were reading and navigate to the article, where it will have more-or-less kept your place. Ideally, when it opens it should default to where you were, not to Top Stories, but if it does, it should immediately go to the issue, article and place in the article you were in the process of reading when you click on the Magazine tab. And then, there is an real design problem: when you are not connected to the internet (example: on the subway between stations), when you click on the Magazine tab to access your downloaded magazines, there is a very substantial delay in opening the that tab. This should be immediate in the absence of internet connectivity. The New Yorker, which is itself indispensable, could do much better by its users.

If the content in the New Yorker wasn’t so worthwhile I would ditch this app in a heartbeat. - Even with the latest version it doesn’t really keep my place. If I move away from what I am reading (and the app will do it for me without asking when new stories come in), I have to scroll through the downloaded issues, remember which one I was reading, find the article, and then sometimes, but not always, it will go to where I left off: huge pain. - With one of the latest updates the cover title disappeared and the order of the articles changed (talk of the town is now at the end) - Suddenly the app started having problems with finding internet connection and issues before 2024 are not available. I hope this lasts problem is a temporary malfunction otherwise I will seriously have to cancel my subscription. BTW I have been a subscriber for many years and I would miss the magazine, just not sure it’s worth the headache. I would revert to print if I could but I travel a lot. The app, if it worked, would be a perfect solution for my needs. Too bad it doesn’t! Wanted to update after the developer’s response: I have indeed contacted the technical support team several times and was appalled at the lack of resolution. For the most part it seems no one even bothers to read the requests to find out what the problems are. My conclusion is the app is poorly designed and the support is lacking.

Longtime print - online subscriber and reader here. Was pleased that with prior “print edition” app i could download AND SAVE issues to view on a large-screen ipad, or a mini for airplane reading. After a forced app upgrade years ago, all my saved full issues deleted, had to redownload each and every one. On a rural connection DSL it takes a minute per issue and mind numbing icon stroking and scrolling. July 2022, again, the app is upgraded, all my saved issues are not ported to the upgraded app. I got to a google-fiber wifi to download issues, all over again. (Edited) at first it looked like i could only download current year issues. Then i went back and noticed a “year” scroll menu (top right, then bottom) to allow prior-year issue download. Back to 2008. So, next app upgrade, will CN continue to refresh archives, or will the old bits just vanish? Twice, issues were not imported in the app upgrade. Remember, readers. Your online media are ephemeral. If you value the content, save the print edition, because CondeNaste may or may not continue to refresh any paid-for archive of digital content. Fortunately, my “saved articles” list, which was initially blank after the upgrade, reappeared after a minute or two- i think it is intact?. So, rating: content quality, 5 stars. Delivery and loss of archives, zero stars. Old issues have been deleted twice, now.