Macworld Digital Magazine U.S. Reviews

New iPad restore solution

RobWatchdog

New iPad Pro 10.5 and everything easily restored except Macworld. Big surprise! Signed in, tried "restore" reply was: nothing to restore! Finally deleted app, downloaded again, signed in. Worked no problem. I like the magazine's content, but downloading each issue is hit or miss. Why does it have to be so bad?

Pages want load on iPhone

imageone

Wow should have read reviews on this app first. Pages want load on iPhone. Just bought a 1 year subscription... not useable. A Zinio user in the past, but thought I would give the Macworld app a try. Zinio does a much better job. Why can't they fix this. Surely they read these reviews. Hey IDG/Macworld we want this to work.

Worse app ever

Arvanitis

Won't load issues on either my iPad or iPhone. Have to call customer service every month and getting frustrated. Will probably just cancel my subscription.

Getting there, but a long way to go.

AKRsr

I share the frustration over downloading problems that others have noted, although the problem seems to have disappeared since the May issue. I really miss the early format of the electronic magazine where one could swipe up or down to go through an article, and right to left to move between articles. The new format: swipe right to left to move forward or back one page at a time is a step backwards. It is far less comfortable and is significantly less time-efficient. And, why can't we go directly to an article from the table of contents? With my printed copies, I could underline and tab pages so that it was easy to return to favorite articles for review. With the electronic version, bookmarking has been compromised. One can only bookmark and entire article. I have lost all of my bookmarks before May 2017, with the recent upgrades in readerware. In addition, there is no way to mark specific paragraphs within an article, or specific items within a list that are referenced under one bookmark. (Ideally, one should be able to highlight any choice of text.) The value of the magazine is dramatically diminished when one can't mark the portions that one would like to return to. My long-term confidence that any book marking at present will be maintained over the long term is also severely compromised. The electronic edition is yet to become a long-term searchable resource. The developer seem to treat it much more like a newspaper- once read each month it is then forgotten. Yet, for most users, it is a resource, and searchability is a significant function. Since searchability also enhances the encounters with advertisements, and hence the interest of advertisers, I am at a complete loss to understand why they fail to address this issue. And, what is the value to any subscriber of the destruction of previous bookmarks whenever a software upgrade is accomplished? It destroys any confidence of the reader that any personalization will be preserved long enough to justify the effort. And, without personalization the value of the subscription is significantly reduced. If given the choice, I would return to the print edition because of these missing features. Yet, everyone of them can be easily implemented in an electronic edition. Why doesn't Macworld Magazine (U.S.) recognize the advantages and attractiveness of doing so? They had a great magazine in the print version- it is a mistake to expect that the electronic edition will be valuable simply because it is digital. In the same way that features developed in the printed edition to facilitate readers use of the magazine enhanced its quality- and hence value, the electronic edition badly needs significantly more polish. Reducing the cost of publishing the magazine by eliminating postage and paper costs, while failing to match the functionality of the paper edition, is a result that is not invisible to the reader. Yet prices are not changed, and it appears that somehow the publisher thinks that profitability has been increased without diminishing the value to the buyer, even though they have not invested the effort to match the quality of the paper edition.

Poorly Designed

JB1161

The original app was very nice—easy to use with many interactive features. The interactive features are gone and even going to an article requires scrolling through pages rather than clicking on the article in the Table of Contents and jumping to it. But the worst part, which brings me to give it just one star, is that downloading each issue is an ordeal. This should be so simple, but the procedure is awkward and definitely not intuitive. For one recent issue, I thought I was doing it right but ended up being billed for the single issue, even though I have a paid-up subscription. Come on, Macworld! You, of all people, who stand in judgement of other people's software, should have an outstandingly wonderful app, not an outstandingly terrible one. Why was the original one abandoned? Are you trying to drive subscribers away with mediocrity, or worse?

Insultingly awful...

Bluepearmain

...especially since ostensibly no one knows apple stuff better than these guys.

Painful, poorly designed

Duckles1

Don't bother with this app or the subscription unless you feel that there is something you can't live without. I have to login and reset a password every single month, the app and online logins don't sync, the support is not what I would call support, and sharing articles requires a login whereas I can take a pic of a printed article and share really easily. Since I can't get this mag in print any longer, I will not renew as am only using the digital version because they stopped printing partway through my subscription period. Completely over it with this company...

Unrealized: magazine access or customer support

tfkelly

Unable to again access to magazine links to customer support are expired. Is this magazine still in business?

Frustrating Macworld Subscription

Luv4books

When subscribing to Macworld through the App Store and attempting to read the digital magazine on an iPad Pro, I believe that it should be reasonable to assume that there is some synchronization between the concept of the magazine and using Apple devices. It is disappointing and frustrating that Macworld cannot manage this better. It is often two weeks after the digital subscription is available before I can download and actually read the magazine. Perhaps I need to attempt the subscription through a PC? Shape up or get out of business.

Terrible

Sledge856

Like most others I find this app to be continually terrible. To get my issues I have to delete the app and download it again. Sign back in and then I can download again. The next day I might have to do it again. Why can't someone fix this?

Macworld Digital Magazine U.S. Reviews – Page 6