New Scientist Negative Reviews

New Scientist App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2024

New Scientist app received 38 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using New Scientist? Can you share your negative thoughts about new scientist?

New Scientist for Negative User Reviews

✓ One of the worstAmazing that such an incredible magazine about science and technology is delivered through one of the worst apps out there. Terrible UI, with lame features and, worst of all, a tendency to lock up on issues and then never release them. You can't even delete them when they get like this, short of uninstalling the entire app. Which would be fine, except you then would lose the scrapbook of saved articles. And seems like the problem gets worse with time. I have half a dozen issues from the last 6 months I can neither read nor delete. Which is the second worst thing. Great you can save individual articles. But no way to sync these across devices or somehow save them in the cloud for later syncing if you buy a new device. Too bad really. Because the content is, as New Scientist has always been, fantastic..GypsyRamblerVersion: 2.0.2

✓ It’s like the app is in a different universeApp doesn’t seem to exist in the same space-time continuum as the website or the daily/weekly briefings sent by email. Can’t login to website with an app subscription (really, New Scientist???) to read articles referenced in New Scientist emails, and the search feature in the app is worse than useless-won’t find articles using the entire title of the article as the search terms, can’t search more than one issue at a time... Total garbage! Do yourself a favor and get the subscription for the web-based version..XoinksVersion: 2.6.1

✓ Rip offWas supposed to get 4 weeks free upon joining but was charged immediately Then I see on the app that it has a 6 weeks free offer Good way to screw people over.Louise66DanfVersion: 4.0.4

✓ Bought but can't readNo free articles, so I buy an interesting looking issue for three bucks. I approve payment, button changes to download, I hit it and get an error about problems with the auth system. Kill and restart app; still says download, still same error. If the client thinks I own it, just give me the content if you can't double check with the server. There are easier ways to read these articles for free than whatever your broken security system thinks I'm up to..SarahNorthwayVersion: 2.0.2

✓ Fatal FlawThere’s a fatal flaw where the app does not remember your last read article/issue position. Coupled by the fact that the app will check for latest content every now and then and then kick you back to home screen is making reading New Scientist a chore. I’ve previously feedback about this but somehow the developer isn’t listening..@}---`,---Version: 2.5.0

✓ Content great, new app sucksLove the content but the new app forced on us a couple weeks ago is a massive down grade. Very disappointing. I can no longer see which articles I’ve read or even which issue I’m on. And night mode has disappeared. Very frustrating to try to read. Was much better before “upgrade”.SirMagCanadaVersion: 4.0.0

✓ So very very badThis app supersucks for all of the reasons given in the other reviews. I've been a new scientist subscriber for over 40 years, and yet the app refused to recognize my subscription number. I had expected the app to have a search option, so you could search previous magazines by keyword. None of that. I'm not interested in downloading magazines: I have a print subscription..Chebyshev13245Version: 2.0.2

✓ Ruined by GoogleNot shown in the screen shots are the Google ads at the bottom of the screen on each article. These ads often contain moving content and are highly annoying. If you don’t mind moving ads covering the bottom few lines on each page then this is a pretty good app. Otherwise, the printed version might be a better alternative. Interestingly, the ads don’t appear on my older iPad..Science AdmirerVersion: 2.6.1

✓ Dark mode makes some text illegiblePlease improve dark mode readability. Dark mode is more comfortable on my eyes, but some text, hyperlinks, supplemental material sections, and even whole articles are impossible to read. Or at least make it easier to toggle dark mode on and off..Loomis TowcarVersion: 4.0.6

✓ Mixed progressNow more streamlined and less buggy; however, it defaults to a newsfeed instead of the library, and i can’t use it at night because there’s no dark mode support =_= I’m considering not renewing my subscription..ComradeCidVersion: 4.0.7

✓ Great way to get New Scientist except...The app functions well enough but Google ads appear at the bottom of the screen, covering magazine content unless wi-fi is turned off. I don’t know if New Scientist is making money by agreeing to allow Google ads or if Google if doing this without permission. I can’t give a good rating on this ap since the ads cover content and there doesn’t seem to be any way of stopping them from covering content (reporting that that ad covers content does not stop the content from being covered)..B2blueb2Version: 2.6.1

✓ Good but with glairing problemThe updated app is an all round massive improvement over the previous app. I have been reading NS back to back since I was a teenager, and after moving abroad I elected to skip the printed version in favour of the digital. This way it's always in my pocket and I evade the massive stack of finished editions. As happy I am with all the small improvements, one change from the old app, a reduction in usability is to me hard to forgive. The app does not support landscape on mobile phones. It does support landscape viewing on my iPad, so I can only assume it was a concious decision to restrict the switch to landscape on smaller devices. This seems to ignore the massive amount of phonecases that specifically make it easy to lay your phone down for reading hands free. I am now forced to prop my phone against objects just to be able to sip my coffee as I read. Thank god for my old iPad, but that doesn't travel with me and thus this oversight or uncomprehesable design decision takes away the only real advantage I saw to subscribing digitally. I guess I will be switching back to the printed subscribtion..ObjonssonVersion: 4.0.7

✓ Doesn't workJust keeps showing the error "there are no issues available please check your internet connection", on wifi or cellular, on iPad or iPhone, even if device rebooted, or app deleted and reinstalled..Mike in BC CanadaVersion: 2.0.2

✓ Great Mag Terrible AppPathetic that one of the best science and technology magazines in the wold is delivered in an app that feels like a web page from the 90s. Basically just PDFs of the mag stuffed into an app. Everything is clunky and non intuitive. And the app trims content so its a lot thinner than the print version. Mind blown. Also. Scroll through the 5 star reviews. They’re obviously written by the design team. That’s the only reason this awful app can be at 3.8 stars..Tsao TsaoVersion: 2.2.0

✓ Great content, app needs some tweaksOnly disappointments are with app design: 1. when reading in Night Mode with low brightness and Night Shift on (how I have it set all the time), linked text (in red) are nearly impossible to read while parts of the article still have bright white background as if “extra info” ignores fact night mode is on 2. When checking for updated content (nearly every time app opens) please remember which article I was reading and where in the article I was and go back to that spot rather than to all the cover pages. I can easily see cover pages by pressing home icon but have to manually toggle through them and scroll down articles to find where I last was.Rjt dv mittdVersion: 2.6.1

✓ Candy Crush-ificationI love New Scientist, and love reading it on the iPad, but this app is disappointing - every month or so it refuses to recognize my subscription for a couple of days. I write to customer service but it appears the app recovers itself. However, the ad at the bottom of the screen is just horrible. It gives the whole thing the feel of Candy Crush - Free Mode. Very tacky for content I’m paying for, and a major reduction in user experience. I think it’s tragic that the app product manager(s) have so little respect for the fabulous magazine content..DpweVersion: 2.6.1

✓ All I want... is to have the app open to the last page I was reading..R-G C-BVersion: 2.6.1

✓ Expensive, no web accessIf you subscribe through the app you won't have access to NS material online. The subscription fee is also much higher through the app..Macha12machaVersion: 1.0.5

✓ Not perfectIf you're a long time reader of the paper magazine, you may not like this app. Different feel, article titles are different, no new content. Why not provide us with something closer to The Economist on iPad? For me, even a straight PDF of the magazine would be better than this. At least, I'm now getting NS on time!.Sub GIS guyVersion: 2.0.2

✓ No App Support so I must write here.Where is the 'Favorite This' Button? Where is the 'Back' Button? I received a Notification of an article which I wanted to save to read in the morning. I could not find a 'Save' or 'Favorite' Button, though it may have been in plain sight somewhere. So, I thought, maybe I must hit 'Favorites', in there top right corner, if I remember. Of course that listed all of nothing, those Favorites which I had saved. Maybe I couldn't find the button ever since I have downloaded this App maybe a week ago. So I tested getting back to my article by pressing each of the buttons beneath. Nothing. No way to get back to what one is reading. I certainly would not pay anything for an App like this. Is it because it is late that I cannot find a button?.An App Store user 999Version: 4.4

✓ Individual issues are incompleteUPDATE: After a few days I had to delete and re-download the individual issue and it seems like it was updated to include the cover story. I bought an individual issue for 6.99 (December 4th issue) specifically to read the cover story. After downloading the issue I realized it included all sections except the cover story which is the basically the only section you can’t read for free on their website. Very disappointed to find out I paid 6.99 for an organized version of their free content..FigalexVersion: 3.0.5

✓ Does not work as on the computer.I can read current and past issues on my computer in a browser but to read on iPhone or iPad my subscription does not authorize reading, it seems s that a separate subscription is required. Probably an oversight by New Scientist management. Consider how long it takes to read an issue each week and the utility to start with the hard copy and follow up in short dips over the week. The Economist and The New Yorker work for me that way..OldMasterVersion: 2.0.2

✓ Our Favourite MagazineNew Scientist is the only magazine that my husband and I read. We have appreciated the coverage of so many topics. I’m disappointed that the app has to be connected to wifi to read it. Downloading the magazine ment I could read it when there is no wifi. Mae.Grandma7maeVersion: 4.0.6

✓ Where can I find articles received from Notification Center?Every time I open a notification and didn’t finish reading and it is gone when I came back later..DhhegeuqhfvyywbdgrVersion: 4.0.7

✓ One step forward, one step back, many steps to goSadly, this version again reverts to the “dump user into Home Screen” when you start the app, rather than straight back into the most-recent article being read. This is the single most important feature to add back (for like the third time?). I have no idea why this keeps disappearing and reappearing. :( There are some potentially nice audio features now. The navigation between audio and text is a mess and difficult to match up, but it’s a start at least. New Scientist could learn a lot from apps like The Economist in this regard. Typography is still weak. Font size can either be too tiny, too large, or billboard sized. It needs additional scales and a decent way to preview..RktcaVersion: 3.0.5

✓ Great content, horrible appFrom the second I downloaded this app it’s had nothing but problems. I need to redownload issues every time I open the app due to a lack of storage on my phone, despite having 10 gigabytes available. And now it won’t even let me download any issues at all. The content is excellent, but the app itself is an absolute disaster..MJ3749Version: 2.3.0

✓ Poor quality of material and now google ads in mobile versionFrom year to year this magazine became poorer. More and more of politicized blah-blah about climate and less and less about real science. Some areas like material science became out of scope of New Scientist. I guess this is because for writing about subjects like materials need not political position but understanding of the subject. And last blow is google ads that appear in mobile version. Hey, I paid (more than for others magazines) for subscription and you place those adds. You have a lot of money from me you have money from google ads; maybe it’s time to hire better contributors?.GrudkgjbnVersion: 2.6.1

✓ Far inferior to ZinioWas reading NS in Zinio, then switched to this. Landscape mode cuts off images with no way to scroll to see the rest, app always opens on table of contents instead of where you left off reading, no way to bookmark anything. Terrible reading experience..Anysia07Version: 1.0.3

✓ Wrong pricesThe description says 115 per year, but in the app it says 155. i would go for 115, but 155 is way too much..Slarty BlartfastVersion: 2.7.0

✓ Needs work to achieve that “magazine” feelingAt present this app is in some nether land between a straightnews feed and a crafted, edited magazine. All the content is there, of course, and the meta experience with links and searches is a plus; but it’s simply not a replacement for a magazine in your hands..Ddyer0Version: 2.8.0

✓ Can you add one more level of font size?I am using iPhone 13. There are three levels of font size in this app. The first level is too small and the middle level is too big. Wondering can you add one more level which can bigger than first level? I am also a subscriber of the economists, their font size setting is perfect. They have much more convenient setting..培根腽肭Version: 3.0.5

✓ Great Magazine, Mediocre AppThe title says it all. I really enjoy this weekly new source but at least 4 times I’ve had trouble logging in from both my iPhone and iPad and have had to call for assistance. They should write a computer science story about it. The magazine is 5 stars, the app is 3, which averages to 4..FogmasterVersion: 2.6.1

✓ Two improvements neededShould be able to change to a sans serif font like Calibri to make it easier to read. In dark mode it is very hard to read the red text. Try some other colour. Love the magazine..GordianxVersion: 2.6.1

✓ Slow and unreliable customer serviceI subscribed this on 10/8 but can not set up password. Sent email and called left message to customer service and no body get back to me. I called couple times and finally get in touch with one lady but she obviously a clock water and more interested to get of duty than solve my issue. Her explain to me is that my account will not be effective until 10/21. I was surprised about this and never met same situation with any other magazine. So I told her I have done with this and ask for cancellation. Good, she told me they wont process it five days later. And no confirmation number no other follow up call or email. Guess she just lie to me and I have to waste time call them again to make sure they will process my cancellation..GLI130Version: 2.0.2

✓ Improved, but a long way to goFinally, it remembers where you left off reading and starts up there. I’ve been waiting years for that. When I choose “copy” how about just putting the URL on the clipboard without the gratuitous vapid text before it? And when I follow a link to the new scientist web site, could it please leave me logged in so I don’t have to enter credentials every single time? Better yet, if the article is already on my device, why not open that?.Mario62Version: 2.7.0

✓ Only works on one deviceTo my knowledge this is the only app that works on only one mobile device, the one that purchased the app. The purchase is not linked to your Apple ID. If you buy it on your iPad you will have to pay again to get issues on your iPhone. If you have to replace your iPad the app purchase is lost..ColrosVersion: 2.2.0

✓ Watch out for your money and your old issues..The app took my money when my subscription renewed but it refused to recognize that I had paid. I couldn’t restore purchases because the app would not recognize me. Thirty days later with no relief, I contacted Apple. (An excruciatingly painful process) Apple gave me no options other than to push through a credit to my credit card - which they did. But it’s worse than that. Every issue that I had not gotten around to downloading when I was a subscriber wants $4.99 now so I can read it. So - New Scientist magazine has ripped me off. While I was a subscriber I thought the app was a just bad joke - as you already you, or so you will realize - but I read the magazine anyway because I really liked it. Now I’m convinced this app is dangerous, both to ones’ mental health and wallet..Gt12fyi3Version: 2.6.1

✓ In app purchase doesn’t workThe in app feature doesn’t work. I can’t log on with my Apple account ID. Good content, but for a science app, you think they’d know how technology works..Bootneck45Version: 4.4

New Scientist works most of the time. If it is not working for you, we recommend you excersise some patience and retry later or contact New Scientist.