Vanity Fair Digital Edition Reviews

by Jfalick

At least on the New Yorker app you can adjust text size. That’s not even an option here. Pinching to zoom decreases readability so that’s useless. Why can’t Condé Nast come up with a decent app? It can’t be that hard. Many other magazines have figured it out (compare The Atlantic). Very disappointing. What’s worse, from my communications with them they don’t actually care. They merely confirm their apps’ shortcomings as if these were simply insurmountable.

by Kenronr

I have been a subscriber to VF for year, and even before I was able to read it online. It once contained diversity. What attracted my eye in the beginning was author Dominick Dunn. He brought so much to this magazine. He was never replaced. Being male I took a lot of ribbing being a subscriber to this so called “woman’s magazine “. But it’s official. Little if none is offered for the male. Your articles have become boring and redundant. I won’t be subscribing to VF any longer.

K. Ritchie

by EJHSr

VanityFairDigitalEdition is currently stuck on the inside cover photo of the most recent issue and I can’t get to the content. I don’t think anyone designing digital media at Condé Nast actually reads magazines in any format or they would not persist in making it more difficult and unpleasant to read their products. Like AD which recently launched, then corrected an unfortunate redo of their digital app, vanity Fair is one if the better magazines to read on an iPad. Better than print in my view. That is until they start “improving” the apps and failing repeatedly to make anything better.

by Katie4164

After my horrible experience with the ‘new and improved’ version of the New Yorker app, my heart sank when I saw the same pitch for the new Vanity Fair app. I assume Condé Nast is moving multiple magazines to this new platform, which, from what I’ve seen so far, is not ‘ready for prime time’.

I decided not to install the update and risk losing all my downloaded issues, and likely much of the content that is key to enjoying the magazine. Then I found that I can’t get the current issue in the old app. What to do?

For now, I’m keeping the old app so I don’t lose everything, and using my library app RBDigital or Kindle to view newer issues. Hopefully, that will allow time for them to get the bugs out of the new app and figure out how to migrate user content without having to start over.

by Yetinut

I have only viewed this on the iPad app. It is good that they have such talented writers because it takes a lot of time and effort to navigate VanityFairDigitalEdition—I would never spend this much effort on mediocre journalism. Using VanityFairDigitalEdition , I never feel like I know where I am and struggle with the gestures required to navigate. If I could do it again, I would have gotten a print subscription and skipped the online.

by Only A Visitor Here

...esp if reading on a phone.
The text is small (no options to change size)
And when scrolling it can flip sideways to another article, and resists flipping back. So you have to go back to the contents page dropdown menu, locate the article and scroll to your place again. Just frustratingly annoying to use on a phone. Maybe it works better on a tablet, but I can’t say.

by Bikracer

I use an Apple iPad keyboard so reading the magazine in Portrait view is a huge pain.
I have to disconnect my keyboard and then hold the iPad in order to read any stories.
I have tendinitis in my wrists and holding the iPad while reading is very painful. That’s why I bought the iPad keyboard Smart Cover.
Please fix this.
I would love to read the magazine on my iPad.

by Molassy

Bought subscription to digital mag thru their website. I can access back issues free on the web archive but even though I linked my subscription to VanityFairDigitalEdition , I apparently have to *purchase* them if I want to read them via VanityFairDigitalEdition ??

All VanityFairDigitalEdition is, is the magazine in digital format. Click on the cover to download it. No archive, no search, none of the daily content offered by email. Lame.

by Avidvasya

I have been reading VF for about ten years. I don’t appreciate changes happened since the Editor in chief left and a new one has started. The content has become very politicized, and thus biased. I’d prefer more neutrality. The point taken, it does not need to be repeated hundreds of times. If I needed that much politics, I’d subscribe to Time magazine rather.

by Readaholic4

I love this digital magazine, but why can’t it switch back and forth on my iPad like at the rest of my magazines and apps do. No iPad covers are designed to stand on their side and this is very awkward during the reading process. This is not rocket science in the programming process. Make the upgrade, please!

by Ktbap

I subscribed in mid-2020 when I wanted more variety to read besides books and NYT. Getting VF was the best decision. I read it every day and love the variety of articles from politics to the royal family to light celeb gossip (without being too salacious like People which is awful) to meaty, gripping journalism. Best investment. I’m a Vanity Fair lifer.

by HapKlein

I read several articles in VF and subscribed but with hesitation.
I feared I would have wade through a sea of glitz for an occasional good article.
But I am flabbergasted with the penetrating journalism and consistent high quality of the magazine.
I have no regrets in learning a new source of enjoyable reading.

by Mister Hexcel

No landscape mode? I swear I’ve bought more than one subscription. Slow. Nothing seems to work. Other publishers seem able to manage electronic delivery, so why can’t CN? The New Yorker electronic delivery is equally deficient.

by Krcvt

I have had a subscription since my second year in law school. I needed a diversion and I got one! Every issue brings me fabulous articles with insightful, reliable reporting. I’m addicted. Here’s to 35 years as a subscriber! Cheers!

by Pat5Z

I look forward to each issue because of the stories. Each article shares a variety ideas and places. They broaden my perspective.
Thanks

by Slighthound

Clunky interface. No landscape mode. No onscreen icon for font size. Thumbnails are huge. The New Yorker’s app is perfectly adequate, so I don’t understand why (1) why CondeNast created a separate app interface for VF, and (2) this interface wasn’t run by a UX person—easily accessible font scaling and landscape are such basic readability functions.

by YCHIJ3K

Beautiful app and easy to use once you practice a bit.

The only downside is not being able to delete old issues to save storage space. The “delete after X months” feature doesn’t appear to work on any of my - admittedly, not new - devices.

by MariBlackmore

Vanity Fair has been my favorite magazine for decades. To me, it has always been the epitome of good journalism, good editorials, and most of all defense, of the truth. I have been a proud suscriptor for many years and every and each one of them, l have only confirmed the tremendous good job Condé Nast has always done with all its publications. Congratulations!

by Franie B. Groovy

Excellent issue. The articles provide detail. The interviews are in-depth.
And the quality goes on from month to month.

by 12987tpo

App is not great on iPad. Many times the first page of an article is an oversized photo. The formatting/sizing of the photo makes it difficult to move past and into the actual article. Also it only allows vertical viewing which is limiting.

by Meggscando

Is there a limit to the number of digital subscription that I can download on my iPhone? I did pay for them already right? Why do I have to keep re-downloading what I’d paid for already? Am I missing something?

And why did you guys change the layout of VanityFairDigitalEdition ? It was great the way it was before

by Bk1234567890*

It’s awful! Trying to navigate your pages. I’m going to cancel my subscription as soon as I get to my laptop.

Bizarre that anyone there thinks this is good design -& in this day and age!

by Whatthevf

The upgrade of last month means that I lost all of my saved articles and the latest editions take forever to download to my devices. How is it possible that VF has taken such a massive step backwards to circa iPad 1?

by Karachi

Sort of tough to through navigate pages. Preferred the previous version. Was more user friendly.

by Dsmiii

I have been a Vanity Fair digital subscriber since December 2015.

After updating to the latest version, lost all downloaded issues, including two special editions, the July 1927 Special Edition and the Jazz Age special edition.

After restoring purchases, these two issues are still not available for download and are not included in the issues that are available for purchase in VanityFairDigitalEdition .

Support has been useless requesting that I restore purchases, which I had already performed, and contacting Apple Support. What does Apple Support have to do with Vanity Fair not providing the issues that were available for purchase in earlier versions of VanityFairDigitalEdition?

by Mark Lowenstein

Love the content but app is mediocre. No landscape mode! Also the recent app update is a step backward. For example, can no longer delete individual issues once they are read. As a result, older issues just sit on the device, taking up space. Why was this functionality removed.

by FLMGem

I liked the old format better. Easier to navigate with the scroll bar on the bottom. Easier to remove issues.

by MsBemail

I have VanityFairDigitalEdition downloaded to my iPad Pro. Don’t really want to have to hold it all the time. I’d rather view the magazine while my iPad is in Landscape view (2 pages at a time) held in place by the keyboard. Why won’t the developed allow for landscape rotation?

by Haass

Erased all of my downloads- even most recent. Now downloads are taking hours for one issue

by Elzeegee

Excellent articles. A great read. I’ve been reading VF for over 20 years and it’s amazing to me that it has remained this good. I do miss Graydon Carter’s amazing Letters from the Editor, though.

by Todd In Venice

I can’t enlarge the pics. Your letters to the editor are too few and weak and the editing has gotten sloppy.

by PixieDonna

This "upgrade" of the magazine app is a travesty for readers. Obviously not designed by someone who reads the actual magazine. Cropping the pages to partial page size, taking away the keeping of your place while mid-read of an article or edition are just a few of the ridiculous "upgrades". I can't always finish an article, now I have to remember which months edition I'm on and then search for the article and then finally find my page. Seriously??? Bring back the previous version of VanityFairDigitalEdition. You are making me completely regret my "paperless" subscription to this magazine that I've loved for 30 years.