The Economist - News, Podcasts

The Economist is a very reliable app. It is very responsive and stable. The audio in the articles makes going through the weekly edition a bliss. It has some room to improve though:
- I think it needs more options to manage playlists. Maybe combine playlists and bookmarks in the main menu options (the ones in the lower part of the screen).
- The iPad version of the app is just the iOS version stretched out. It would be great if it would have more viewing options. The articles menu could have a layout in the style of a mosaic, and within the article, the page could have a better layout combining text and images or even two columns for the text.
- Sometimes I miss being able to browse the printed edition within the app. You can block screen captures while using the app to avoid piracy. A simple reader in which you are able to turn the pages would be much appreciated.

The app (and print version) gives me all the information and news I need and more.
One request though, is it possible to add audio sync functions for multiple devices? I access the Economist Weekly Audio on
multiple devices but it doesn’t know where I stopped on another device which is not very convenient.
Thanks

Worst customer service, questionable business practices towards customers and really full of ads. You pay through your nose and get ads all the time, everywhere. The paper version is mostly ads as well. Very disappointed after years of membership …

Since the subscription is already high priced it feels not ok to be overwhelmed with adds as well

Concise, well-informed, informative and judging everything on its contribution to the common good. There is a formula, of course, to the articles, but it is used with a light hand and rarely becomes a straitjacket. Consider The Economists as everything the Murdoch empire outlets aren’t.

I like the app and I really like the articles. However the app is not as good as the now defunct legacy app. I just want to read the articles of the print edition and listen to the audio of the print edition. This is much harder compare to in the past. Every time you open the app, you go to the main page, not the weekly addition. If I’m in between 4g coverage, it takes long to load, even though I download the weekly issue. I understand the new app can handle more adverts, but as a basic user it’s too complicated. Finally, when I select a complete section for the audio edition, the articles do not always appear in my playlist in the same sequence as the print edition. For example, Lexington is not the last audio item in my playlist of only the US section. This is annoying

Honestly the only place with truly international news and analysis, brought with vigor and depth. They haven’t disappointed for years.

The Economist was mijn lijfblad gedurende meer dan 25 jaar, maar nu - sinds ik 80 jaar ben - is dit tijdschrift voor mij te duur, hoewel de inhoud no steeds van hoge kwaliteit is.

The new app is fine now, still two questions:
I was preparing for a long flight by downloading several editions, it would be very helpful to see in the “browse editions” screen which magazines I downloaded and are available offline.
Second a bug: when in an article there is a link to another article, in that article I cannot select text anymore to use the dictionary.

Really good podcast, but nearly impossible to cancel the subscription. Can’t in the app, web seems intentionally confusing with 6 steps, after which the last one doesn’t work and after 15 min of chatting with support they can still not confirm my subscription is cancelled. Language seems intentionally changed from ‘subscription’ to ‘renewal’ in the cancellation flow and support keeps upselling instead of handeling this. Very disappointing.

This version does not allow you to simply select and play a couple of stories. If you do so it will keep ok playing indefinitely, which is incredibly annoying. Should be a simple change but I have been waiting for ages!

Wanted to update my previous review by stating that it is really good to see the quick responses on bugs / missing features.
For me everything works fine now, one small question / request: I was preparing for a long flight by downloading several editions, it would be very helpful to see in the “browse editions” screen which magazines I downloaded and are available offline.

Since yesterday the app crashes immediately, can’t open it even, reloaded the app and no change

Updating this review, I see after recent update there is major change in the speed and I see progress, glad to hear u guys listened and working on it, thank you for that and looking forward to better and better experience

Since last update I can’t find the option to change the font size, for me it is now too small to read. Why can’t you check if such a basic feature still works in your new app?

The web based app is very low quality. Tons of annoying interactions and very slow.
Journalism is stellar.

Slowly becoming more and more opinionated, more and more biased. The email summaries in particular sometimes devolve into long emotive rants on the state of politics today. Not what need should be. Keep it neutral, do better.

I love The Economist, but its app is just so incredibly slow to load. Please, please fix this