Advantages of the new app -> Noticeably faster performance, no restriction of licenses to Bookwalker only, a faster/smoother manga-reading experience, offline mode.Disadvantages of the new app (version 2.6.26) ->Ads for new Mangas via outdated pop-ups that you can quickly tap away, outdated UI without Liquid Glass on iOS for the controls, and much more—plus no attractive, modern library design (the old design of the Japanese app, just updated and made smoother?!), nicer animations when flipping pages are missing and the ability to highlight text passages in case you forget where you were.UX Tips -> Keep in mind that many users remained loyal to Bookwalker & liked it because it didn’t feel like just another soulless e-reader app. Many look the same and often seem like a budget-friendly compromise for the company just to offer users the app alongside the website. What I really appreciate is the developers’ transparency with the roadmap. Please keep updating it and let us know what to expect. Transparent communication is key <3

The new app splits your library in half if you bought both English and Japanese books in the past. You can now only access your English books through this app and have to download a separate app for your Japanese books. It also gets rid of the charming "bookshelf" design it had and gave out designs for in the past. You now open books from the "purchased" section in your library. And while I can live with these changes, what's absolutely the worst is that they implemented MICRO TRANSACTIONS to buy new books!! And in typical micro transactions fashion, you can't just buy the exact amount you need for a new book but you have to select from a pool of premade offers. Want to buy a book for 899 coins (their in-app currency)? Well, why don't you buy the 849 coins pack with 150 coins extra for 9.99€? On the website you can still pay the exact amount with real currency but in the app only with coins. The app got so much worse and lets me want to interact less with it. I hope these problems will be fixed ASAP!Edit: The app also logs you out after some weeks (even when using it) and you don't know when it will happen because the app looks IDENTICAL if you're now logged in or not. The only difference is that you can't see your library anymore and there's no hint that this might be the case because you're not logged in! Seriously, this app whole main focus is to make you buy stuff with it's landing page being the shop and not your library, with constant pop–ups that appear EVERY TIME you kinda interact with the app, and it's freaking micro–transactions!! Already existing users, who don't want to spend money right now but rather want to interact with already bought books, seem to be a mere afterthought in all of this. Really terrible app...

TL;DR: To sum it up, the user experience for the e-reader is subpar and half baked. I can only assume that some executives decided to put money on the forefront, which would also explain the new micro-transaction system implemented via coins and the effort put into making you purchase books immediately after opening the app (contrary to the JP version, you are now not immediately loaded into the book you have read before closing the app, but into the shop instead). In other words, the app is entirely designed around making the user buy books, not read them. Ensh***ification is real and this app exemplifies just that.I've been using the JP app since December 2024 and for the fact that BookWalker always had been more of an online bookstore rather than an e-reader, I personally never felt like reading the books in app was a drag. It got the job done and even had a few extra features that elevated the experience from being as bare bones as it could have been. That being said, I feel like the transfer to this app and everything that encompasses it, such as other licensors and whatnot made the e-reader take a heavy hit quality wise. Disregarding the less than ideal migration process from BookWalker JP to this app, I just feel like the UI became palpably more convoluted. Books have to be downloaded manually now (which is a win for users with low storage space I guess?), but there was nothing that indicates that you're even able to download it. You would assume that the 'downloading...' progress bar that appears on the screen upon opening a book for the first time would indicate that, but you would be wrong obviously. If you actually want do download a book, you would have to press "view details" right below its name (which opens the shop page of said book) and click on the three dots at the top. Why hide a feature that should be enabled by default?Speaking of features though, bookmarks and marking passages are just gone. I took a look at the roadmap that whoever replies to the reviews prompts you to go and there is no mention of either feature. That's quite the misfortune, because I have actively started marking lines I liked for about a year now and it seems like all of that is negligible? Not to mention that not having bookmarks means I will now be unable to jump between pages without getting lost and also open the book always on the first page of a chapter after not using the app for some time, which means I now have to painstakingly look for the exact page I've been on before I can continue reading. That being said, they also plan on reworking the bookshelf feature via "my collections". The details of that change are quite ambiguous and I am only left to wonder as to what will happen to the cover images you get from purchasing books from certain series. I just feel so much of this app's e-reader is rushed and poorly thought out, that I honestly can't recommend downloading it at all. At least not if you intend on using the e-reader. There are certainly better alternatives and I definitely plan on switching as well once I finish the last book I want to read.

Because they got the missing Books I was Looking for