The Atlantic Magazine Reviews

by TheFourthPope

The extended abstracts take up unnecessary space, yet I have no real contention with the desires of the editorial staff for greater control over the immediate content.

But removing any sort of search function? If I see a story in a social media feed, or have one recommended in person by a friend (people still talk, editors) it’s effectively impossible to find that story in TheAtlanticMagazine . I am supposed to guess at the section, then scroll and scroll and scroll until I find it? What if I’d like to read a last article? Bookmarks shouldn’t be the only option.

This needed field testing before the full release. I understand the challenge of Peter and Oliver’s call to “rethink everything about the way we present ourselves” but this was a poor showing. Rethink it again.

by Cspear322

I absolutely love the magazine, but TheAtlanticMagazine is seriously lacking a couple of features. First and foremost, there is no search function. Good luck finding many articles that are currently listed on the web site. And second, it is somewhat difficult to find an article you might see on the website and find it within one of the section categories. Often they are not listed. Who designed this? And, without a search. I have worked in IT for many years, designed and/or worked with designers, and this is just downright stupid. I reached out to support via chat and was told this is being corrected. It has been this way for at least a year or two. Bad, bad, bad.

by As;dlfkhjas;dldgks;hja;sklgj

I am a long time subscriber to The Atlantic. I still get the print magazine but honestly do most of my Atlantic reading electronically. I was really excited when I first got TheAtlanticMagazine , but have only been frustrated since. First, it is the most unintuitive app I think I have used in a long time. Having to dig 3 to 4 steps down to even find the magazine edition. It shouldn’t be an expedition to find the most recent magazine. I understand having the feed to read popular articles, but the joy of The Atlantic is “paging” through the magazine to read different articles that I wouldn’t typically click on in a news feed. Second, SEARCH. How can there not be a search function??? Search is one of the most useful reasons to read newspapers and magazines in electronic format. Please, please, please add search function. Third, Font Size. I can’t be alone in the demographics of The Atlantic subscribers in needing glasses or larger fonts to read comfortably. This is probably the second biggest reason to read content electronically instead of the print version. Please add the ability to adjust the size of the font.
I still enjoy The Atlantic and think it is one of the best sources for in depth analysis of current events and culture. However, until these issues are addressed I will probably continue to link to The Atlantic on the internet instead of through TheAtlanticMagazine .

by Peanut Butter Fan

I love the Atlantic but TheAtlanticMagazine is frustrating. I had a notification for a story that I thought interesting, so I clicked on it and read about halfway through, then was interrupted. When I reopened TheAtlanticMagazine , I was on the homepage, not the article I was halfway through. I searched for a search button - nope. I looked on the homepage, but that offers only 5 Reader Favorites. I looked in Sections, but didn’t know what section my article was in. I went to my browser and eventually was able to find it (it’s in How to Build a Life, which I couldn’t find in TheAtlanticMagazine ).
I read several other magazines and newspapers through apps - The Atlantic should check out The New Yorker’s and The New York Times for improving functionality.

by Aba6074

The home page redesign just doesn’t cut it for me. Too much white space and relatively big images which leads to a lot of scrolling to figure out the content. A more concise design and at a glance overview would have been better. To me there was nothing wrong with the old home page design.
I also would like a separate “dark mode on/off” setting within TheAtlanticMagazine so that it is possible to set the mode independently of the general settings. I prefer to read black on white no matter what time of day but would like to keep the rest of my apps set to the general setting and not always switch back and forth.

by Scuzzmonkey

I’ll echo what some other people have said about the redesign... it really reduced the information density and makes it hard to browse quickly and easily. I’ll leave it to UI theorists to delve into the why of it, but let’s just say they should have paid some folks to take a look at that, or at least offer some settings to rectify the issue.

App has always been a little barebones and feature-free, but this took most of the utility out of it for me. I don’t have time to scroll through full-page pictures of Trump when what I really want to do is read stories. Unsubscribed from the magazine and uninstalling TheAtlanticMagazine .

by Lilactrap

Great content needs no explanation. I like curated views, but in some ways it seems too curated because there’s absolutely no customization. I bought a subscription because I loved articles I stumbled online. However, now in TheAtlanticMagazine , I’d like to find and bookmark said articles, but they are nowhere to be found. Found the year and month edition; found that edition in app, but apparently all articles from that edition aren’t in TheAtlanticMagazine . There’s no search. Browsing by topic, just sends you through the same recent articles you see in other areas. Big push for newsletters. Who reads their personal newsletters anymore; we get enough email from work; personal emails are just for junk mail and password resets. Make newsletters/topics in TheAtlanticMagazine . Let us choose our topics of interest feeds if we choose in addition to “today.”

by Awbagley

Content is great, I like the "today" section with a set of highlights as well as capacity to view by section, articles match the bold look of the print magazine. Also the crossword section is A+ and easy to find. App is generally good enough to justify a digital only subscription.

Some UX issues that prompted me to leave a review:
- Why is there not a search (or at the very least a "history" or "recently read") function??? I literally read an article yesterday, and when I tried to find it again today to share with a friend and was unable to do so. Very frustrating.

- Needs better connection b/t app and browser links - it's strange that if i'm sent a story using a browser link, it will send me to the browser and tell me it's my last free article / time to subscribe, but won't give me any option to open the article in TheAtlanticMagazine .

by Yasi K.

TheAtlanticMagazine itself is beautiful. Reading stories on it is a breeze. And the stories are so consistently high quality; I subscribe to the New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, and more and the only rival to the Atlantic is the New Yorker — but I think the Atlantic beats it out for sheer quality.

But I need to be able to search for stories, and I need to be able to access a story in my web browser that then lets me open it in TheAtlanticMagazine . Right now it’s just a pretty place to browse the current popular stories. It could be so much more.

by Diom3d3s

This is a good magazine and a decent app. I appreciate the developers fixing the scrolling bug that was so irritating. However, I still would like to be able to search for articles, and wish I had some control of the column width for easier reading. I still prefer to read in Safari sometimes to have better control.

Original Review: Loses place in article

This is a great magazine but I have some problems with TheAtlanticMagazine . First, if you leave in the midst of reading a long article to say, check you email, upon your return TheAtlanticMagazine returns to the top of the article and you lose your place. I’ve never seen another reading app do this! Please fix it. It is so annoying I often read long articles in Safari instead of TheAtlanticMagazine. Second, I’d like to be able to control the margin size in addition to the font size. The column width is too wide on a full-size iPad to be comfortable for me. Otherwise, I find TheAtlanticMagazine easy to navigate and like it.

by Chase-r

I was a subscriber through Google to which I could only get the magazine on the google news app which I thought was ridiculous. Switching over to the iPhone XR I downloaded the Atlantic and subscribed again. I don’t know what everyone is complaining about, the new layout is beautiful. I like the today section plus I get to hear the articles through the SoundCloud link that’s been put up on some articles. The dark mode is perfect. I let go of the New York Times because they hadn’t gone to dark mode yet. It’s just too bright. LA Times has and they have a great layout as well. Anyways great job Atlantic. You’re TheAtlanticMagazine is great and you’ve got a subscriber for life.

by Harlem Music

Journalism that is more valuable than ever — a go to source for anyone who believes a well-informed, critically thinking citizenry of independent thought is still essential for a flourishing society.

Digitally, The Atlantic is both pulse and perspective on the relevant issues of importance with content that is digestible and accessible. (I really like the internal links to other articles, as well as other sites.)

The magazine is the place for big ideas and emerging issues with writing that is thought provoking, trustworthy, and typically fascinating. Liberal bias? They are so far above any such labeling with some of the best minds in a diverse cross section of experience and sensibilities, and content that is a worthy addition to knowledge.

by K2568

So happy that the developers added dark mode support!! That was a feature I’ve long wanted so am really looking forward to reading more articles late at night in bed. The new art in TheAtlanticMagazine is also beautiful and I like that the crossword is available to solve in mobile now.

The today tab is a little confusing since it doesn’t clearly show what is an official article and what is just summarizing the latest news, but I’m guessing that will become more refined over time.

by Infrequent But Honest

I almost didn’t download TheAtlanticMagazine after becoming a subscriber because I assumed I would continue to read most articles on my laptop. I was wrong! I really enjoy the experience of using TheAtlanticMagazine. The design is excellent and the Today screen always presents something I’m interested in, while the limit to 5 main stories keeps it from being overwhelming like most other news/media apps are. (You can of course access all stories elsewhere in TheAtlanticMagazine .) To my own surprise, I’ve become a near daily user and recommend TheAtlanticMagazine as the most pleasant way to access Atlantic articles.

by SamBaquet

Any magazine that publishes the memoirs of Prince Peter Kropotkin—even 120 years ago, when Prince Kropotkin was beloved by the American people, even Andrew Carnegie was a fan, is tops in my book. However, the Atlantic editors created a title for the memoirs that Kropotkin rightly claimed was misguided and misleading. These memoirs reflect in quite interesting ways in these quite interesting times. Have you recently heard of the virus support group called “Mutual Aid”? It’s the title of Kropotkin’s most compelling work. And it rings with simple and profound insight in these questionable times.

by Excellent714

The Atlantic it always is an excellent publication the only publication is once again Apple promises it with Apple plus news yet that’s a lie Apple seems to Lie a lot these days.I have Apple News+ and I’m supposed to get the Atlantic well I guess a couple articles that’s not exactly getting the Atlantic to me and Apple has no right to advertise that way it’s simply an advertisement this is useless subscribe to the Atlantic and that stinks Apple stinks there’s scam artists of the worst type people are getting wise that kind of behavior on the part of Apple.

by Raybear0801

This is a very good app from The Atlantic. Everything is here: current news with reporting and editorials to help make sense of things plus access to the monthly magazine. Yes, it’s available through a subscription but in these trying times, supporting a news organization financially should be considered doing one’s civic duty. We need a free press more now than ever before and they need us to support them in their work. This is a great app from a great news organization and I am glad to support it.

by JulieBea

For 36 years, I received the Atlantic paper magazine. My Grandmother had been James Fallows’ fifth grade teacher. She loved him so much, she bought an Atlantic subscription for me as a college undergrad. She paid for the renewal each Christmas until her death in 2013. The Atlantic has been my constant companion. I read each issue cover to cover. Amazing journalism, fiction, poetry, and humor.

For the last 4 years, I’ve been an app subscriber and I’m pleased to say the Atlantic is getting even better. The writers are amazing. I subscribe to the emails and they alert me to things I might want to read. What led me to review today, was that I just finished the list of articles recommended by Tom Nichols about the war in Ukraine. They dramatically raised my understanding of the situation. Outstanding!

I love TheAtlanticMagazine , but have one small problem with it. I would love to see a search bar visible on the opening page of TheAtlanticMagazine . I’m often searching for certain authors or want to easily access the article that I’ve been alerted to. There may be an easy way to search, but I haven’t found it.

Keep up the good work!

by RockMaxB

I’m a recent subscriber to The Atlantic — I had no idea of the high-quality writing and thoughtfulness of the reporters and editors — I have been so impressed, educated, and inspired. The Atlantic App has been the best part of the experience! I thought I was getting a monthly publication, but through TheAtlanticMagazine , I am daily receiving a deeper understanding and reflection on my world — and TheAtlanticMagazine presents it in such a personal way! The Atlantic and its App may be the most important action I have taken for my citizenship and ability to understand a complex and (hopefully) changing world. Thank you!

by Davis Randall Parkman

This magazine is full of excellent stories and incredible journalism. The UI is beautiful and clean. Anne Applebaum’s piece in the July 2020 issue is particularly fantastic. New stories daily in addition to magazine additions.

I would like to suggest that they add a projects page so we can view things like Shadowland more easily.

I would also make the much bigger request that they add the rest of the magazine additions into TheAtlanticMagazine . They currently have available every issue of the Atlantic magazine going back to 2004. It would be an amazing luxury to have the entire backlog of the magazine available for reading.

by Surveyor24

This is such a buggy app. On iOS 13.1 TheAtlanticMagazine will pop up an “error connection” when you try click on the “link to the print subscription.” After a while it goes away and then you can enter you paper subscription details. But then back comes the error when you click submit.
I certainly am not going to pay for a second subscription by subscribing via Apple. So I just had to get rid of TheAtlanticMagazine . And I’ll have to get rid of the paper subscription with its fixed tiny print if I’m to avoid stealing my eyes. Too bad.

by Citizen QRS

This redesign is horrible. I don’t mind the daily tip 5 feed but they should have left the old feed as another tab to go to. Now to identify stories I have to go through each section and refresh.

Also horrible app user experience based on the huge “Welcome to...” redesign language on an iPhone 8.

Love the journalism but TheAtlanticMagazine makes the excellent journalism not accessible on TheAtlanticMagazine and forcing me to consider cancelation as I am purely an iPhone app user.

by HeyJudeJES

EXTREMELY difficult to skim through; basic headlines are difficult to distinguish from the body of the text - even BEFORE clicking thru to the article. Density of information TOO LOW. Pictures take up more space than words. And I am talking about the "Latest" section etc, not the cover. Too much scrolling required!!

Have stopped reading it unless I want to find an article I have been referred to from elsewhere. If it is not re-redesigned soon I will reluctantly have to cancel my subscription.

by Mark Schlegel

The redesign is completely counter-intuitive. Readers want a dozen stories closely packed together, so they can quickly skim the headlines and select three or four to read. Instead we get this

Small set of articles

Hand-curated by the editors, taking control from the reader

With enormous text

That requires scrolling scrolling scrolling

Taxing my limited time and dwindling attention span

And presented in the most pompous and pretentious manner possible, like tiny dishes at an overpriced midtown restaurant

The redesign was probably incredibly exciting and satisfying to the Atlantic’s UX team, but this subscriber is headed elsewhere

by Unfunny Clown

It is so much harder to take a quick look for an article I want to read. Much more scrolling to get through fewer options. I find my self checking TheAtlanticMagazine fewer times per day than I did in the previous app. When I do go to TheAtlanticMagazine , I read fewer articles because I spend more time looking for articles the articles that interest me that day. Please bring the old design back.

by Prattlesnake

Why TheAtlanticMagazine has no search function is beyond me, but I don’t use TheAtlanticMagazine much now.

I get news from lots of sources; social media and the internet in general. If I see an article on social media or the web it’s just about impossible to find it on TheAtlanticMagazine without a search feature.

Not useful.

by Jflow23

New update is ok...interface will take some getting used to. My frustration is that background audio is not working properly on my device post update. Audio plays for a minute or two then stops if the screen goes dark or if I switch apps. I like to listen in the car on short commutes...not working.

by Cordavi

Since the redesign, I’ve found I actually want to check TheAtlanticMagazine each day. The content feels more thoughtfully presented and gives me a couple of ideas to think about on my commute. I actually find myself wanting to open and read some of the full articles now. So the redesign is a big win for me.

by Fastfan

So excited to experience The Atlantic’s refreshed style and function. TheAtlanticMagazine is refined and serves up some great ideas that makes it stand apart from other newsfeeds. Rather than reading just the headline and scrolling, I engage, think about how much time I have and choose what I want to spend my time on. It finally feels like The Atlantic.

by Far Echo

I’ve been a subscriber to the Atlantic ever since I moved to the US back in May of 2018 and this is exactly the type of refresher TheAtlanticMagazine needed to compete with the likes of the NYT and the New Yorker.

It’s tidy and thoughtful. Just like the magazine. A true reflection. Can’t wait to get reading!