The Times: UK & World News 12+

Change is good!

I think the app is extremely good and far superior to any of the others I have tried eg Telegraph, New York Times, Guardian etc. It works seamlessly on my iPad pro and in my view the user experience has been thought through and well curated - with easy access via the nav at the top of the screen to the different sections like News, Comment, Times2 etc.

I love being able to access the readers comments underneath articles which is like dipping into a far more superior and educated version of Twitter. My only and tiny gripe is that I can now read my favourite column of the week - Saturday’s Janice Turner piece - on Friday evening. Of course I could wait, but that level of self discipline is hard for me! I don’t do the puzzles - so I can’t comment on how well that section works.

Well done developer team. I can see you get a lot of stick on here - and I sympathise with how tech evolution can mess with people’s equilibrium - but I love the app!

Not a patch on the old app

EDIT: Whilst my initial impression is still sound, I HAVE found myself drawn more and more to the app, above Apple News+ so it gains a couple of stars. The app generally works well and it’s nice to flick through current news in a decent order. The only bug I’ve found is that is only downloads text for offline viewing - highly annoying. I download today’s version to read on the train, but when I do the article pictures only show a grey holding image. This could be a game changer for some people.

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Re-subscribed to see if I could get a version that was better than that provided through Apple News+ and the answer is... no. I remember loving the old version’s layout - no constant scrolling, but apart from the puzzles this gives me nothing I can’t get elsewhere. So for £25 a month I get the same experience, and the same article layout, that I do for £9.99. With adverts. I subscribe to other digital edition newspapers, and expected the same level of premium experience. If you pay to unlock a service, that service is paid for by my subscription - not revenue from my subscription AND revenue from animated adverts, personalised through cookies. At present, I can’t see myself renewing as I can’t see the value in paying to access an app for £25, when I can read the same articles, formatted in exactly the same way, with the same amount of scrolling and adverts, that I can get for £9.99. Access to Times+ and puzzles is just not enough.

A retrograde step! Our choice has been reduced. It’s now one or the other.

I smell a rat! How convenient that when my payment card expired at the end of March, there seemed to be a problem with my subscription and it did not renew. This despite having updated my details in the Apple wallet, and there being no issue with my other subscriptions.
My subscription then mysteriously renewed a day late even though I had done nothing further to update my details. Upon renewal I then found that I was denied access to the Live app, but continued to have access to the Classic and e-paper apps. My Live app then updated to the latest edition and I was still unable to access it, although I was able to access the print edition which is now also contained within the new Live app. I am extremely unimpressed with this situation and I have cancelled my subscription of several years standing, which is now due to expire on 2nd May.

I have been told to contact Apple for an explanation as to why I can no longer use their Live app, together with the Classic app and the e-paper app. Although I can access the Printed Edition via the Live app. I have a strong suspicion that the days of the Classic app may well be numbered now that the Print Edition has been made available within the updated Live app. It’s not for me anymore. I’m out. Subscription cancelled!

Developer Response ,

Thank you for leaving your feedback - unfortunately, we only have access to direct subscriptions via our Customer Service Team and do not accept Apple Pay for payments directly with us, which does suggest your subscription is with Apple and so is managed by them.

Please rest assured, there are currently no plans to retire the Classic or Puzzles app, or even the E-Paper, which has been integrated into the Live App.