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Slate.com App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2024
Slate.com app received 122 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using Slate.com? Can you share your negative thoughts about slate.com?
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Slate.com for Negative User Reviews
✓ Nice app......but I've experienced a bug when reading articles - I was half way through an article and slipped into landscape mode, and the article went back to the start. VERY annoying!.Version: 0
✓ The app and content aren’t worth the price.I read Slate off and in for years. Now they won’t let me read without paying $60/year. Your articles are not worth half the price of a video streaming g service. I read less than 10 articles a month. I’m not paying 50 cents a piece to read them in an app that almost never properly formatted the content or show embedded tweets correctly. After almost a decade, I’ll be deleting the app tonight and will likely stop interacting with Slate altogether as I only read news on my iPhone. Such a waste..Version: 5.6
✓ 5 stars for content. Minus 4 stars for the app.The Slate app is the Startac of iOS apps. It is a dinosaur that still lumbers about the earth, but only just. I pay for Slate Plus, which means getting multiple versions of podcasts in the podcast feed. Podcasts which aren’t supposed to have ads, have ads. Some of them. Consistency is hard to find. I love many of the podcasts here, and the Plus is worth it for the bonus content from Slate Money alone. I would just like to see Slate have an app which is even a tenth as good as their journalism and opinion..Version: 5.6.8
✓ The app is rubbishIt does not work. Waste of time. Which I could get my money back.Version: 5.6.8
✓ DisappointingYou make it very hard for me to enjoy slate on my iPhone; the apps home page takes FOREVER to load - sometimes it doesn't load at all - and one can't even view/post comments!!! Fix it please..Version: 2.0
✓ Blank preferred.Slate's mobile site pesters you to download the app. Slate's app pesters you to 'Like' them on Facebook - even if you already do. I don't have the technical issues others report, but I am driven to despair by Slate's incessant nagging of its readers. Does Farhad Manjoo never try Slate's own app? He'd be appalled. The articles are varied, provoking and usually a wonderful distraction; it's a shame I can't concentrate on them..Version: 2.0.4
✓ Can't click on article author anymore?!I would find an interesting article, then click on their name to see another articles posted by them. With the new update, it's not remotely possible. WTF is that? No hyperlinks are clickable.Version: 5.0.1
✓ GarbageSorry uninspiring rehash of tabloid trash.Version: 4.4.2
✓ Love Slate, app is not reliableSlate has been my favorite news site for years. The app is horrible. It crashes when opening an article approximately 33% of the time. The only way I’m able to read an article sometimes is opening the app and frantically clicking “open in safari” before it crashes again. The issues with the app detract majorly from my enjoyment, and I often just give up on it. I cannot understand how the app has so many positive reviews. I keep mine updated and have an iPhone XS, so it shouldn’t be so bad..Version: 5.3.27
✓ Freezes can be curedLike other reviewers, thought this was an excellent slightly offbeat news site until it refused to load. Deleting the app and then re-installing seems to work, so far... Annoying, though..Version: 2.0
✓ Great content - terrible functionality!I love Slate and always find interesting articles to enjoy. However the app is very bug-y and often fails to load or forces itself to close. Very disappointing!.Version: 2.1
✓ Canceling my SubscriptionAfter multiple attempts to contact Slate support, I am throwing in the towel and canceling my subscription. I can no longer access podcasts through my app without show cutting out every few minutes. I truly love the content but am done with the frustration of trying to access it. I end up going through general podcast anyway. I understand budgets are tight, but you need someone to provide technical support to your customers..Version: 5.3.20
✓ Fix the crashesHey Plotz or Manjoo - this app has been crashing for months - is a bit of reliable functionality too much to ask? I paid good time for this app!.Version: 2.1
✓ Good coverage, glitchy appI have been very disappointed by the number of times this app fails to open properly or shuts itself down. I hope that the developers can stabilise it.Version: 2.1
✓ Too slowLoads too slowly. Erratic access to Slate Plus podcasts..Version: 5.7.1
✓ Don’t even botherI have been a Slate Member for two years and never had access to the special segments of their podcast. I have at this point written them four times asking for support and never heard a word back. I cannot read articles or anything promised in the special content. It isn’t a cheap membership but also they clearly don’t care about getting back to their audience. If you want to listen to their podcasts, just subscribe on iTunes. At least you won’t be paying for no service like I did..Version: 5.3.7
✓ Slow to load, seems buggyHave to agree with those below who've found Slate slow to load. It can take forever for the home screen. If you open an article form the home screen it almost never load. Click through to the category screen, then click the same story, and it loads. Happens irrespective of quality of data connection (even on wifi). Just weird behaviour. Home screen should show stories in chronological order, as on the site's home page. Slideshows don't play in the app, so why not filter out those stories (or fix the slideshows). On the plus side: allows full screen reading without the ad bar - nice little usability concession. As for the content - if you're the kind of person who likes Slate, then this is the kind of content you will like..Version: 2.0.4
✓ What is the point of this app if it doesn’t remember you?This app requires you to log in almost every time you want to read an article. It is constantly hounding you to either disable your ad blocker or subscribe (even if you have just logged in), it forgets who you are and tells you that you have read all your free articles (once again, even if you have just logged in) and even if you are logged in as a Slate + member you get the same deal. Other apps manage to remember who you are over the course of a week and more..Version: 5.6.3
✓ App freezes oftenI have had to delete the app and access on safari now, as it freezes too frequently to be useful. All the usual attempts to repair have failed..Version: 5.0.1
✓ Random music starts when I open the app..,... and continues when I quit from it, meaning I have to switch off and on again. Basically unusable nowadays..Version: 5.3.2
✓ Stop shuffling the storiesI read the articles on the recent page and scroll down until I see ones I’ve already read. HOWEVER quite frequently stories that weren’t there before are now shuffled in between ones I’ve already read. I end up missing articles that I would have read. I have noticed that articles are posted hours before the time stamp on the article. How that works and why it’s done I don’t know. Please stop moving things around..Version: 5.3.16
✓ Unusable AppCan't read the articles because it does not word wrap nor does the screen work in portrait. Pity because the articles are good..Version: 3.0.2
✓ Used to be my favoriteI used to use this app several times a day and paid for a Slate+ membership to do so. Recently, the app function has really degraded. It logs me out multiple times a day and won’t remember my password. Today it won’t let me log in at all, and just lingers on a white screen when I try to sign in. I’ll try deleting and re-downloading the app. If that doesn’t work, I guess I’ll cancel my Slate+ subscription and find another source for writing like this..Version: 5.6.2
✓ SlateHas some great writing on some very pertinent and thoughtful topics. My main complaints are two-fold. First, it is so blindly, chauvinistically Anerican, both in topics and perspectives. It’s a big world out there. I lived in the US for several years (grad school). And enjoyed those years. We Canadians are the familiar outsiders, both similar and different. And, some of the topics are so narrowly sexual. Come on, guys, I’m all for enjoying life, enjoying sex but I’m just not into everyone else’s business. Just gets repetitive, and we don’t want to make sexuality boring,.Version: 5.4
✓ App is a glitchy messSlate is amazing and their reporting is top notch. But this is an app review and the app is a glitchy mess. It often crashes when returning to the front page after reading a single article. Sometimes it gets stuck displaying the same set of articles for hours or days at a time (right now it shows the same article at the top of feed from first thing yesterday morning, even though I’m reading a newer article online right now). One time everything displayed in italics for a couple of days for no apparent reason. Sometimes when scrolling through an article it accidentally registers a side swipe and switches to the next article in sequence. Scrolling is choppy even at the best of times. I’ve taken to reading on Safari instead, which is crazy because I’m always wishing my news sources had their own dedicated apps (looking at you Vox). Slate, it’s a great thing that you have an app and I haven’t deleted you yet, but please work out the bugs!.Version: 5.4
✓ Update more like Letdown amiriteCringe review title aside, this app is annoying. - no search option??? Or at least easily accessible one - limited amount of articles you can access without trying to navigate through recent articles like a webring of days gone by. If I have unlimited access to articles, why can’t I scroll down further to catch up on things I may have missed? This has always bothered me - no rotating to landscape anymore - the ads are new, and seriously make me forget I’m using an app vs just a browser - why am I paying for slate plus if the app now has ads and I can’t easily access all the articles from the app? - seriously, whoever decided on this update needs to be fired. Uninstalling and returning to browser-based reading, which is annoying but at least ACTUALLY unlimited.Version: 6.0.1
✓ Rebrand version is very buggySince the launch of the rebranded app there are a lot of redraw and UI format issues. The play bar on the bottom is only half visible and the buttons don’t work The back button on the articles often appears somewhere in the middle of the header image and often doesn’t actually work.Version: 5.3.1
✓ Love slate but the app needs a lot of workIt’s clunky and crashes and searches are a problem.Version: 5.3.11
✓ Won’t keep me signed inI’m a Slate Plus member in the UK and I’m finding it increasingly annoying that I can’t enjoy the articles using the app because it keeps telling me to sign up or log in. So I log in and nothing happens. It also won’t keep me logged in when I do manage it! Easier to use to website..Version: 5.5
✓ NearlyI like slate. But that permanent ad bar has got to go. I don't mind ads. I understand their utility and i am happy to accept them. But let me dismiss them. Screen real estate is precious enough as it is..Version: 2.0.4
✓ Paid for plus - doesn't workI am in the UK. Please tell me that Slate aren't so toothless they block UK users over gdpr issues?.Version: 5.3.15
✓ Poor UI and jerky on iPadI’m new to the Slate app. I like the writing and content so much that I’ve read on Apple News, I downloaded the app and considered a paid subscription. However the app is terrible on my new iPad running the latest iOS. Scrolling is weirdly jerky. There are only 5 font size options, and the biggest is still too small for my poor eyesight – especially with an inexplicably italic typeface and lines way too close together. There’s no way to filter out podcast-only news stories, you have to open them to find out it’s just a podcast. I don’t want to listen... I want to read. In short – Slate lost a paying customer here, due to a very poorly designed app. I work in app and website UI dev, and frankly somebody needs firing because they are scaring away paying customers (just read the latest reviews in the apple App Store). I’ll try back soon snd hope things have improved..Version: 5.3.28
✓ Love it!I just can't get on without my daily dose of Slate and I appreciate the app for enabling me to get that. BUT, I do wish there was a search function and greater mobile support- sometimes when I go back to old columns it displays the full site. And I notice that you can't select the article author's name and look at their archive, which I'd like..Version: 2.1
✓ BorkBork bork..Version: 5.1
✓ FIX YOUR APP JEEZThe login problems are back in this version, and it’s reeeeeeallly annoying. Why won’t you fix the app? You are losing paying subscribers. Not only do I have to disable my VPN to log in on my phone, doing the same on my ipad is not allowing me to log in - the purple page that comes up with the ‘login’ or ‘restore purchases’ option just sits there, unclickable. This is AWFUL. Fix it. —— previous review Ugh. Every time there’s an update I am foolishly hopeful you will have fixed issues with this goldurn app. I still have issues with login not working (periodically getting logged out and not being able to logs back in) and with dark mode not allowing me to view the comments I’m typing as I’m typing them. Is this really all that hard? I do not have this issue with any other app. At all. Ever. Like, not even once. Sincerely, Slate Plus Subscriber Despite Crankiness.Version: 5.6.1
✓ Randomly quitsContent is fantastic, however the app itself frequently just quits in the middle of reading an article. Occasionally it freezes on the comments screen with no way to get back to the article. This is an app I use multiple times a day because the articles are great BUT the app itself is not stable..Version: 5.3.29
✓ Love Slate, hate this appI use this app primarily to listen to podcasts with Slate Plus content and it crashes *constantly*. When it crashes it also forgets your place in the podcast you were listening to. This problem has remained the same for years - and when I’ve emailed Slate to complain they don’t even reply. Honestly in a landscape in which multiple media orgs are clamouring for your subscription $, this useless app and Slate’s apparent indifference is enough to make me cancel my subscription and support another media company instead..Version: 5.6
✓ Great when it workedHandy way to access an excellent news site but now seems to be broken and refuses to open after the splash screen. A solid 4/5 stars if it ever gets fixed..Version: 0
✓ Good, content, many problems.Great content, especially Matthew Y, unfortunately seen to be many issues with updating pages, had to uninstall re-install at one point..Version: 2.1
✓ Unusable. Video ads run constantly in middle of articles!Slate is a great magazine, with good political and social analysis. However, the app is unusable. In the middle of every article are adverts that are in motion. They are visually distracting. They are Google ads and have a minuscule close “x” that doesn’t work. But even if they did, that’s not a solution. One does not want to have close *every* manually. Plus, the close buttons are so tiny, one risks tapping in the advert and passing over private data through their intrusive tracking. No thanks, Slate! You’ve blown it with this approach..Version: 6.1
✓ Using of white people photos only.Excellent material, but racist bias in photo/illustration selections. Cancelling my subscription..Version: 5.3.27
✓ What are we paying for?I have been reading Slate since it began and finally gave in and purchased Slate+ this year because they started metering and tightening the amount of free reads. Maybe that makes me cheap, but I’m a school teacher and try to save pennies where I can. IMO the writing is not what is was 10 years ago, but it is still pretty strong on the whole and still feels indispensable to me. BUT, I don’t know how they can sleep at night charging us almost $60 and giving us an app that is so legendarily dreadful. And the thing is: the app has always been bad. They fix it for a while and then it breaks, again and again. When I wasn’t paying for it, I swallowed my complaints. But c’mon! I know they had a major loss of ad revenue since Covid, which lead to the tighter meter, but can you please allocate some resources to the tech side here? I have to sign in again, every time, for each new story, and the podcast play bar only appears halfway on my iPhone screen. And the podcast does not remember where you paused. And the podcast time codes are often completely unrelated to the actual concepts of time and space. Ugh. I know I said it was indispensable, but after my subscription ends, I will learn to live without if improvements aren’t made..Version: 5.6.1
✓ Great articles, extremely frustrating app updateI have had and enjoyed the slate app for probably about a year now. It’s a far better mobile reading experience than browser, despite some bugs and the fact that the entire backlog of content is too large for the app. However, the most recent update has left me at the end of my rope. I have slate plus, and the app does not remember that I have logged in. Annoying, but I use a password manager. What pushes this from annoyance to unacceptable is that in order to log back in (after it auto logs me out every time the app closes), I have to uninstall and reinstall because the login page will not display correctly. To be clear, the slate plus login page will only load the first time I open it after a fresh installation. It will not load under any other circumstance. In practice, this means that I must uninstall and reinstall the app every single day to read new articles (I read far more articles than the monthly free limit allows, hence purchasing slate plus). I admittedly have a decently old iPhone (iphone 7) but my iOS is up to date and I have never had this issue with other apps. I have not been able to find a way to contact the app developers about this issue, but hopefully you will see this review and address this extraordinarily annoying problem..Version: 5.6.2
✓ Got bugsIt's nice to get all the articles in a simple format, but I can't get videos, slide shows or the DoubleX blog. If you are going to charge, the bugs should be sorted first! Awaiting updates!.Version: 0
✓ Won't loadLoved the content but now it's not loading at all on my 3G. Shame..Version: 1.2.1
✓ Frustrating!Excellent app, but tends to freeze on front page - several updates and reloads temporarily fix it, but then we're back to the same issue. Should be the easy way to access one of the best sites on the web!.Version: 2.0.1
✓ Still crashes on startup - unusableDownloaded the update with fix in early Sept 12 - and it still won't load past the title screen. Fire your dev team - it is still garbage..Version: 2.0.6
✓ Can’t share via e-mail in the iPad appI like Slate Magazine but the share via e-mail functionality is broken and has been for some time. For a lot of people myself included this is a deal-breaker. (Can’t even copy link or open in browser from app)..Version: 4.0.3
✓ App won’t allow loginsApp freezes on login screen. Occasionally can get logged in only to be logged out again a couple hours later, having to constantly delete and reinstall over the last 2 weeks. Content is great but the app is terrible and frustrating..Version: 5.6.2
✓ This app is a disasterI like Slate’s content very much, and I’m a Slate Plus member, but the app is practically unusable. I used to read Slate via my RSS reader, but recently that became impossible: Slate was requiring a separate sign-in which it often wouldn’t accept. So I switched to the app. It is equally frustrating. I’m signed in, but it seems to have trouble remembering that, especially when I try to switch to an article referenced in another article. At that point it wants me to sign in again, and doesn’t always accept the signin. Plus the search function is all but non-existent: try finding the News Quiz, which doesn’t seem to show up by itself. Finally, there are times when the app just freezes completely. PLEASE FIX THE APP..Version: 5.5.1
✓ 5.3.18 Still crashes on loading5.3.18 Still crashes on loading, just like 5.3.17 on ios 12.4.1..Version: 5.3.18
✓ Just confusingI came to slate plus from the podcasts but just can’t seem to get the rhythm of this app. It’s confusing and redundant. Not sure why I need a list that had the same podcast in it three times because it is the latest in three different shows. Going to cancel Slate Plus for the second time and try again next year. Maybe they will have it together. Love some of the content. Loath the delivery..Version: 5.3.26
✓ Love Slate, hate the appThe app won't let me see comments. I'm a Slate plus member and have contacted the team about a year ago. Fix the glitch!.Version: 5.7.1
✓ Get ready to log in every time you use itI decided to pay for Slate because I have read their articles for many years for free. Yet I have never had any website that wasn’t a financial one make me log in every time and also doesn’t have Face ID. Very poorly designed. For the past three weeks, I can’t even log in. The log in command goes to a blank screen. Doesn’t matter if you load a new version. Don’t waste your money.Version: 5.6.2
✓ AnnoyingWorked great when I originally downloaded it but then they did a flashy update and I hardly bother to use it now as it never seems to load up the content (just the headlines). Please fix it Slate!!.Version: 2.0.4
✓ Why can't you commentReally good for keeping you up to date on all things American but wish there was a comment section to debate on selected stories.Version: 3.0.3
✓ Crashing ConstantlyI love the programming on Slate which is why I became a Slate Plus member. However, the Slate app is constantly logging me off Slate Plus so I’m listening to commercials, and it’s constantly crashing or pausing in the middle of a podcast. I’m not quite sure what to do about any of this. The app is fully updated and still giving me problems. I know I don’t have this problem when I listen to Slate programs on the Apple podcast app. So….I may cancel my Slate Plus membership if they can’t get this fixed..Version: 5.6.4
✓ One of the worst apps everThe menu to access your account page keeps disappearing on my very large iphone 14 plus. You need to go to that page to access and subscribe to Slate Plus ad free podcasts in iTunes . So after paying over a hundred bucks for Slate Plus, I cannot subscribe in iTunes because I can't get on the account page. There is supposedly a menu in the upper right to access my account, but it doesn't display on my phone, even when I make the font smaller. Another supposed option in the Slate Plus FAQS is to type in your cell phone number to get a link to subscribe. However, the keyboard to type in the number doesn't open when you click on the field to put it in. I can listen toPlus podcasts in the Slate app instead of iTunes, but there isn't a decent search feature to look for the podcasts I like. Customer service is only by email and the responses are never helpful..Version: 5.7.1
✓ I like the content but...Most of the way I consume Slate is through this app but it’s been a problem from the beginning, crashes more than other apps, drains my battery. I’m not sure what the difference is with this from others but it’s frustrating to use because of these issues. I want to spend more time reading the content and I’d like to become a plus member but I just can’t spend much time on the app because of the frequent crashes so I can’t justify the expense if I can’t spend more than a few minutes at a time on the app..Version: 5.3.27
✓ Bungled paywall - Delete the App!I pay for content and subscribe to plenty of content creators I don’t have to. Getting a surprise restriction 4 days after an auto update occurs does not give me warm fuzzies about your writers. It makes me rethink how smart the publication is and how it values the relationship with readers (which in my case spans almost two decades). This ham handed attempt will create some short term gains, but far less than it could with some subscription-savvy people at the helm. I predict the legacy to be diminished influence and a number of highly targeted pink slips. Delete the app if you agree!.Version: 5.6
✓ Terrible appI love Slate, and am a Slate+ member, but this app is terrible. You can’t search all of the Slate content, and since I almost exclusively read it on my phone this means I’m unable to access all of the articles. With this latest update, it asks me to login every single time, which is annoying enough but the link to login is super tiny and difficult to activate, while there is an enormous trial subscription button. They seem more interested in new subscribers than facilitating access for current subscribers. I think Slate may have run it’s course for me, as I’m unlikely to renew due to the app’s accessibility issues..Version: 5.6.2
✓ BuggyThe Slate app is quite buggy. It crashes frequently and requires me to sign in every time I want to read an article. Even though I have a paid subscription to Slate, I often get ads in the app. Also, the search function is terrible. The worst part is the tech team has been unresponsive when I report issues. I hope they fix the app soon as I am thinking about canceling my subscription if there continues to be problems..Version: 5.6.3
✓ Love Slate, but the app is SO buggy!I really value Slate, and I pay for Slate Plus. On the app, I am consistently logged out for unknown reasons, and then when I press the “sign in” link, it brings up an utterly blank pop up. So even though I’m paying premium, I pretty regularly cannot log in using the app to view what I pay for. I’ve checked multiple times to make sure the app is updated, so I guess I’m just dealing with the best that it can be? One more weird thing: even when I am logged in, sometimes I open the app, and the same article from summer 2020 about age 35 being a fertility cliff is at the top of “recent” for like 2 seconds. It disappears, but seriously?? It’s not especially triggering for me, but as a woman of a certain age, I def know people it could be triggering for. And why is this even happening- an old article at the top like that that disappears? Has been happening for *months*. Otherwise, the UI design is great. Idk why the functionality is so poor..Version: 5.6.2
✓ Melrat1Slate itself and its content is wonderful but this app is not so great for ipad users. It consistently fails to open photo galleries and is not so hot at taking users to and from outside links. Shame that such good journalism is let down by technical issues..Version: 2.1
✓ Doesn’t keep me signed inAnd keeps saying there’s a payment error, when my subscription isn’t up for renewal until July..Version: 5.5.1
✓ Search is hidden and horribleAs a Slate Plus subscriber I have to say the app’s search function undermines any positives the app has. First they hide it. Perhaps they’re hiding their shame. Second when you try and use it, the second you start typingWhat you’re typing disappears and it starts guessing what do you mean based upon your hidden characters. Third it doesn’t work particularly well. Fourth once you’re done searching the hamburger is gone so you can’t go anywhere but to one of the (crappy) search results without closing the app entirely and reopening it. The only conclusion I can come to is that they don’t want you to search. You’re better off not using the app at all and instead using the Google app..Version: 5.3.15
✓ ½ as good since Mike Pesca’s departureThere was a time when slate was number one for really really smart people thoughtfully commenting on the issues of the day in a way no one else was. Now much of the time it feels like ia bunch of (still) smart people shouting out ideological platitudes with no room for either dissent or any thoughtful disagreement. It’s definitely a watered down version of its former self, still somewhat readable, but only occasionally informative or interesting. Mike Pesca is presumably gone, which is a huge loss. There’s still Jordan Weissman, Christina Cautericci, the whole Political Gabfest and others to look forward to, but if I’m being honest,Slate’s not the go to it once was..Version: 5.6
✓ Great writing, very buggy appI *love* Slate, and don’t know why their app has had these glaring issues for this long: 1. It’s one of only a couple apps on my phone that crashes—and it crashes often. The app just dies and closes, generally over and over. 2. When an article has an embedded tweet with an embedded video, I believe it’s intended for you to play the video right there, but it doesn’t play—you have to switch over to the Twitter app to play the video. 3. Some articles don’t show at all in the app (!), or are missing the primary info/images. Two regular examples are Strategist articles with lists of recommendations, or “here’s what the smartest people on both sides are tweeting” articles, during debates. 4. After a recent update, *all text* (headlines, sub heads, and body text) is weirdly in italics. And the sub headers are weirdly clipped, so the top edges of the letters are all missing. It’s weird. Like I said, Slate is a wonderful website. These are specifically issues with the app. The app has had the first three issues for years, in my experience..Version: 5.4
✓ DisappointingI am a dedicated Slate reader--I read this site every day. For an online-only publication, this is a surprisingly terrible app. The text is crowded, navigation is awkward, and many of the interactive elements and features accessible I. The Web version of Slate either don't load or are very glitchy. Slate, get your act together!.Version: 2.1
✓ DisrespectI see some people complaining that they’re upset that they can’t read the stories on the app without paying. I paid, and I STILL can’t read the stories. They updated their app, and now iOS subscribers can’t use their subscriptions. They’ve known about the issue and have still failed to correct it. So what exactly am I paying for? Update: they said they fixed the problem. It lasted for one use. Now, every time I want to read a story, I have to delete the app, re-download it, and then sign in to Slate+. Next time I want to use the app, I have to go through the whole process again. This app is utter garbage..Version: 5.6.2
✓ The worstNever has the distance between how much I love the content of something and hate the delivery of it been as great as it is with Slate. This app is just the worst. Constant bugs, ads that pop up and cause issues every time you scroll past them, lack of updates, so on Sunday morning when you are most likely to want to spend time reading, it’s never a sure bet Slate will have new content. Comments are not enabled on the app, you can’t view them or make them. I also have issues with my account and the app every time I renew my sub which I don’t know why I keep doing..Version: 5.7.0
✓ Poorly designed for audioI usually listen to podcasts on slate and there is no way to manage audio streams in this app. The audio plays in the background without a media player to navigate recordings. Stream their podcasts elsewhere and skip the app if you prefer their audio..Version: 4.4.0
✓ App is super jankyI enjoy Slate. But this app is janky as heck. You can now read comments in dark mode… but you can’t read a comment you’re typing. Articles that are lists of recommendations for items to buy — the linked items just don’t show up, so you get a set of reviews without any indication of the items being reviewed — that’s been the case for years. And for the past three days now, every single piece of text in the app has been italicized. Headlines, bylines, subheads, body text. (Guessing someone forgot to close an italics tag in the CSS for the app.) Plus, the app crashes constantly. Always has. It seems like this app just isn’t a priority for Slate, never has been and never will be. It’s frustrating..Version: 5.3.28
✓ AwfulAbysmal. Home page loaded on initial start-up but any attempt to refresh afterward never works. If I could give a zero star, I would..Version: 2.0.6
✓ Always crashesI love Slate, but this app is terrible! It's always crashing, so I read Slate in Google Currents now.Version: 2.1
✓ Great content, poor appSlate is my favourite source for news and a leisurely read and I use this app many times a day, even if its got some pretty big flaws. Hardly any pictures will show (esp. annoying when an article is referencing a specific image or feature stats) and it glitches frequently. Still, for the content itself, highly recommended..Version: 3.3.2
✓ Great content, lousy appI’ve been a fan of Slate’s content for many years and I’ve thought of them as an essential voice in the American media landscape, so when they started Slate Plus, I signed on and downloaded their app. Prior to that I had just used Apple podcasts. Their app is very weak, to the point where it significantly degrades my enjoyment of their content. It does not effectively attach to the native services of the iOS operating system, so when it’s playing audio and you want to switch to playing music, the Slate audio does not stop. Similarly, if you pause it and then unpause it using external audio controls, via Bluetooth, it doesn’t restart. Now, for the last two weeks in a row, my FAVORITE podcast of all, the Political Gabfest keeps pausing itself every two minutes or so and has to be restarted manually, which requires unlocking the phone and navigating down two levels in the menu structure (again, it does not play well with iOS). So much for listening to it while you cook dinner. The overall performance of the app is very slow and it does not support downloading podcasts in advance so you can listen to them offline. The fact that I’ve had to go back to Apple’s lackluster podcast app would tell you my standards for ease of use are low, but Slate’s app doesn’t meet them..Version: 5.3.19
✓ Surprisingly terribleVery buggy, to the point of unread ability. Frozen screens, can't fast forward properly in podcasts, links to internal Slate articles that are literally unreadable, plus constant pop-ups asking that I download the app (what do you think I am reading this on, Slate?). Mobile site also appalling. What a disappointment. Don't use this, just download the podcasts via iTunes..Version: 2.0.4
✓ Problematic AppThis app is consistently horrible and never improves despite many “bug fixes”. I pay for Slate Plus and the app makes me reconsider. Frequently the app just doesn’t update with new content for days, there are no comments and the search just doesn’t work. I’m not sure why it’s so bad, but it really does the content a disservice..Version: 5.7.1
✓ SlateI agree fonts are too tiny. No fonts resize option..Version: 0
✓ Canceling my subscription because the appMany other reviews point out that the app crashes daily and you have to log in every day to access the premium “Slate Plus” content. This has been happening on and off for the more than a year I have been using the app. I really want to continue to read Slate but the app is my primary way to consume content and it does not do the job required. Lately more and more content is premium access only, which requires the user to be logged in. Recommend you do not sign up for Slate Plus if you intend to rely on this app for accessing the content you paid for..Version: 5.6.3
✓ Great content. Hopeless App.In short the content is excellent but the web design is a joke. Come on Slate - it’s 2018 no one should be offering content on such a hard to navigate, unfriendly platform..Version: 5.3.11
✓ I don’t do reviewsI’ve never done a review of anything. Not a fan of the constant review culture we live in. But I feel compelled now because of problems identified by other users. I absolutely love Slate content. It use to be the highlight of my week to listen to the Political and Cultural podcast. Now I oftentimes skip trying because of constant problems with playback through the App. Essentially it is useless. I hear 10 minutes and then it just shuts off. I’ve tried to listen through other podcast apps but the process of accessing my slate plus membership content is complex and cumbersome. In this day and age it is not clear to me why this has not be fixed yet..Version: 5.3.23
✓ Frustrating notificationsThis app is utterly broken in the way its notifications work. I’ll get a notification about a story that looks interesting so I’ll click on it fully expecting the app to open to the article I question. Instead, the just opens and then you are left to wade through any number of articles depending on when the one you are looking for was published. How is it every othe news organization doesn’t have this problem? Please fix it before I’m convinced to quit wasting my time and cancel my Slate+ subscription..Version: 5.6
✓ Version 5.3.18 also doesn’t workApp still closes down after loading..Version: 5.3.18
✓ Great content but limited searchNot as broad a range of articles as in the full website..Version: 5.1.5
✓ UK plus subscriber locked out due to GDPRGet it together slate.Version: 5.3.15
✓ Why O You Want Me To Pay?I enjoy reading Slate very much. Sadly I am going to disable the app because you won’t let me read it unless I pay. It started with Slate+ being the gateway to much of Dear Prudence and ended today when you gave me notice I had read all the free articles I could without subscribing and you shut me off. My question is: if I need to pay to read, what do you do with all the advertising dollars you must generate because there are ads everywhere? Just like many other current sources, I’m asked to pay and then wade through many, many ads to find the pieces of the article. I’m not paying them either. And I’m not paying to play games, nor do I pay to watch cable TV for $150 a month and still put up with ads everywhere. It just bothers me about you more than the others because I enjoy Slate—your writers are fantastic, the content is always interesting and compelling, and the satire suits me perfectly. I even buy things from some of the advertisers paying you to be present everywhere in Slate. It’s a shame that now you have closed the door to me unless I pay, too..Version: 5.4
✓ Great content, terrible functionalitySo I am a big fan of slate and what it does, particularly it's podcasts, so I want to support it. But this app is really annoying to use, listening to podcasts on it is a constant frustration. You cannot time scroll and if you are interrupted by a phone call or you pause it for too long you lose your place. You also can't pause from the headphones remote. Sadly i won't be renewing my membership of slate plus once it expires because of this, it's not worth the annoyance..Version: 5.1.4
✓ Listening to PodcastsI’ve been a member of Slate for quite some time. When I first began listening to podcasts they’d shut off. Thinking it was my phone, I tried my iPad, with no better success. I was so frustrated, I began listening to podcasts with the commercials. Of course that led to even greater frustration as I was paying to NOT have the commercials. So I just stopped listening. I might have stopped paying for Slate altogether, but that seems wrong as I like the articles and my knowledge of politics, as well as all things current, comes primarily from written word. But these podcasts are good. So I tried again, thinking surely, they’ve got this thing fixed. Yet now it seems worse, if that’s possible. I can maybe get 5 minutes before it shuts off. At home it’s annoying, but I can go back to the app (which, by the way, completely closes out each time, requiring me to find the particular episode I want and begin again) to restart. When I’m driving, however, I’m stuck. While I like the work Slate does, I am so very tempted to stop my subscription. I think after 3 plus years, I’ve received little value but shown support. So please fix this thing or I’m gone.Version: 5.3.20
✓ Can I read non-S+ articles w/o paying?Is there any way to read Slate articles using the app on my phone if I’m not a member of Slate Plus? Right now, I am signed in on the app, and every single article, once I’ve opened them, brings up the prompt to become a member of Slate Plus, not just the ones that have the “S+” symbol. I’ve tried opening the same articles using browsers on my laptop, and I have access to them there. Other people seem to be able to read a few articles for free before getting the prompt, but I haven’t figured out what I might need to change in order to get that. If the app is only for Slate Plus members, then that should be explicit at the beginning of the process..Version: 5.6.8
✓ Podcasts keep crashing!!So irritating.Version: 5.3.24
✓ Keeps crashingApp keeps crashing every time I try to read an article. Why would I pay for premium when the basic app can’t do the one thing it’s designed for?.Version: 5.3.24
✓ No contentApp hasn’t worked in months. No content. Worthless!.Version: 5.3.24
✓ Login/crash fails for YEARSI’m a longtime Slate reader and have been and on/off Slate+ subscriber. I really like the content. This app is awful, and has been for years. It has always crashed on me, through my use of a variety of iOS devices - so often that I deleted it long ago. I recently re-upped my Slate+ subscription when I got a new iPhone 12, so I decided to try the app again. I simply cannot login. All I get when I hit the login button it an “Error: redirect_url mismatch” notification. Not sure why Slate can’t find developers that can make the app work. But I’m going to delete it again. Not usable. I’d give it zero stars if I could..Version: 5.6.2
✓ Useless NowWhen Slate announced they were extending the loving embrace of their paywall to iOS, I assumed we’d still be able to periodically read articles without the overpriced subscription. Seems not to be the case. May as well pull the app from the app store. You want $60 a year, maybe get some better writers..Version: 5.6
✓ No comments on articlesI don’t pay for a slate plus membership so that comments aren’t visible. For a couple of weeks now, no comments ( other people’s) are appearing. I subscribe for the comments, because it sure ain’t for the slate writers..Version: 5.6.3
✓ Was great app, now won't openI really enjoyed using this app until it began refusing to open. The splash screen comes up for a few seconds, and then the app closes. I've tried deleting and re-installing to no avail..Version: 0
✓ Awful appI love reading the articles on Slate and part of the fun is reading the comments and discussions that the article generates. But recently the app “broke” and the reader comments on the articles are no longer available on the app. I emailed about it and was told to use the web version of the software. That doesn’t fix the app which no longer works like it did for years. Adding that it has been months and they still haven’t bothered to fix the app so you can see the comment sections. It’s awful..Version: 5.6.8
✓ Slate Plus features don’t workI very much enjoy Slate’s journalism, but the app is a complete gutterball. I paid to join Slate Plus because they promised the app would be free of advertising and I’d have access to exclusive content. The problem is the app doesn’t work, I’m unable to log in, so I’m still seeing ads and locked out of the Plus content. I wrote several times to tech support, and an agent told Zoe told me essentially nothing can be done and I have to live without the added content I paid for. Every time I opened the app I felt like a sucker who’d been cheated and then dismissed. I’ve since deleted the app..Version: 5.5
✓ BrokenUpdate seems to have broken app..Version: 2.0.5
✓ Needs fixing!I paid the money! I’m using the app! I’m signed in! But the damned thing just does not work well. I’m still getting ads, I’m not always getting the right feed, and I’m experiencing many glitches and interruptions..Version: 5.3.16
✓ Not much Slate Plus contentI love Slate. The articles and podcasts are fantastic. However, there doesn't seem to be much extra content for us paying Slate Plus customers. I'm happy to pay so you stay in business, but it would be grand to get more for my money..Version: 5.3.13
✓ Great content but crashes a lotI am a huge fan of Slate and read articles on this app about once a day. the articles are consistently interesting and well-written. but WHY is this app so buggy, it crashes basically every time i open it and it updates. not a big deal as just re-open the app but annoying..Version: 2.1
✓ Great news, poor appThe app routinely crashes. Sometimes it takes 4 or 5 attempts before an article will stay open. Sometimes I give up and got to the web version. But then why have an app?.Version: 5.3.28
✓ Not functioningThe app does not load any content at all since I’ve downloaded it. I’ve tried updating and redownloading and nothing works..Version: 5.5
✓ I cannot use this appDownloaded to listen to a podcast but got stuck in the Search screen trying to find it with no way back to the main menu. Useless. Have deleted and accessed podcast via Apple Podcasts. You wasted this opportunity to attract a new reader, Slate. Poor..Version: 5.3.6
✓ Can't do anything with the app since I updatedSince updating the app will not refresh. It is showing the same articles that were showing the day I upgraded, and it doesn't matter what I do, it will not refresh..Version: 4.4.1
✓ Forgets my sign-in, sign in screen is blankWorked great until I updated in mid September. Now the app forgets I signed in the moment I close it; it nags me to sign up to Slate + and hides articles BUT the sign- in screen is white blank! This is the fourth time I’ve deleted and re-loaded it JUST TO SIGN IN. Likely to be the last..Version: 5.6.2
✓ Doesn’t workBlank screen, no content loads. It’s been like this for years, please fix the app!!.Version: 5.6.1
✓ Five stars for content/three stars for appLogin issues finally resolved but still find that the app is slow to load and a bit quirky (ie loads its own article links into a web browser). However, Slate content is abundant and high quality. —— Log-in simply does not work anymore. Constantly kicked out even right after I’ve logged in. app is also slow to load and glitchy. Not a great way to treat subscribers. Have given up on app and using mobile web for now..Version: 5.6.1
✓ Useless appJust useless crashes within mins of using.Version: 5.3.24
✓ Very poor subscription retention in appInsanity. Absolute incompetence in subscription verification somewhere in IOS interface. Cannot even link subscription to other apps like Apple Podcasts or Spotify despite various pages saying how easy it is. Makes me scream with frustration..Version: 5.7.1
✓ Hard to EnjoyInfuriates me that this app will not rotate to landscape. I just want to comfortably read. Why is that so hard?.Version: 5.3.26
✓ Not usefulWhat’s the point of having an app for Slate when Slate links—even within the Slate app itself—do not open in the Slate app? If I’m logged in to Slate Plus in the app, and I see a podcast that I want to subscribe to, I should not have to log in again, then scroll around in several places in order to find my podcast link. Slate seems to want us to listen to podcasts within the app, but that just isn’t how I prefer to listen. Two stars instead of one because it is a better reading experience in the app than in my phone browser, if I can find the article I want to read..Version: 5.3.15
✓ Bring back Mike Pesca!I enjoy(ed) the Slate app very much-but since they canceled Mike Pesca’s podcast, The Gist, I have lost faith in the editorial decisions that are taking place at this media organization. For me, The Gist was absolutely the best daily podcast out there, offering a truly balanced look at the political and social concerns of our country at this time. I have never had any reply to my queries about why the show has been censored, nor have I found any articles about it on their site. I am extremely disappointed and without further information I simply cannot place any trust in the articles or even other podcasts that form a part of their conglomerate. I fully understand that my one small voice means nothing to them, but it is still leaves me feeling bad, which is simply not something I need to be reminded of each time I open the app. I will probably hold out just a bit longer to see if the podcast returns, or to get definitive information about why he was pulled, but then for my own well-being I need to delete Slate from my news feed and move on. It’s a strange world we live in to be sure..Version: 5.6
✓ Latest update crashed appThe most recent update killed the app. No longer functional. Turn off the phone. No change. Please fix the app..Version: 5.3.17
✓ Never opensI love Slate, but this app crashes every time I try to open it. Don't buy until they can provide a version that you can actually use. Also, can I get my $2.99 back?.Version: 0
✓ Slate appThis app is horrible not worth the download! Its slow to load and is full of bugs. Normally I am a big fan of slate but this app makes it hard to like them.Version: 2.0.1
✓ Needs more workVery buggy, pages don't format correctly, Huge wasted space below articles, ugly status bars, needs to be made functional, to match the good content. hopeful for a quick update soon...Version: 0
✓ Bait and switchTook the 2 week free then $39 for one year, $59 thereafter offer. Or so I thought. iTunes signed me up for one free week then $89.99 per year thereafter. Someone should write an expose on this. App seems a bit clunky. Always suggesting I sign in even after repeatedly signing the in..Version: 5.5
✓ Buggy and laggyAs a publication I rate slate among my favourites. As an app, it sucks. The ads are so heavy that my phone grinds to a halt. Fix this!.Version: 5.5.1
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