The Philadelphia Inquirer

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

1. [R3] 1/5 · US Subscription with Ads?: I’m paying monthly for a subscription yet still get obnoxious full screen ads that take over the screen and article I’m reading. Really unfortunate. I won’t be renewing my subscription.
2. [R4] 1/5 · US Out of date articles and BIG ADs: I’m really getting fed up with this app. First, while many articles land in the app days before appearing in the published newspaper; there are many “breaking” stories that don’t show up in the app. The inline adds are getting so big you can’t scroll the page without launching the ads webpage. Finally the video ads become so intrusive it’s not worth reading th
3. [R48] 2/5 · US App Articles Get Hijacked by Shady Ad Vendor: Since the latest update I find the app gets hijacked intermittently by shady full-page scam ad exploits, like “as an iPhone user you may have won” type things. This is the type of thing I expect to see from a low-quality website accessed via an unprotected web browser, not a paid subscription to a local newspaper accessed via their own app. Please im
4. [R6] 1/5 · US Figure out you online access policies: For the 2nd time in the past 12 months I've subscribed to your online paper. And for the 2nd time I am unable to access any articles, as I'm told I've reached my limit of free access, even though I am logged in. This is incredibly frustrating. I am paying for access and can't access.
5. [R11] 1/5 · US Uses too much space: I like the app but it’s taking up all the free space on my phone (32GB), which is absurd. The clear cache button doesn’t work. The only solution is to delete the app.
6. [R12] 2/5 · US Memory hog: This app eats up memory more than anything else on my phone. How can an app go to 50G of use after a month?
7. [R18] 2/5 · US Ok app but a space hog: Content is good. App is just ok but many others are much better. Main complaint is after using it a while it consumes too much space. Clearing its cache does nothing. It currently has over 7gb on my iPad. Only way to fix it is to delete and reinstall. Also, many times when you come back to the app it loses my place. Doesn’t anyone test this?
8. [R21] 4/5 · US Portrait mode only update?: I love reading the inquirer everyday on my iPad. But today, I noticed the app icon had changed from black to white. And now I can only use the app in portrait mode. It is much more difficult to read this way, and the stand on my case can’t hold it open that way. I didn’t mind that the price went up to almost $30/month, but that is a lot of money for a product that is
9. [R49] 1/5 · US Interface: Such a bad interface - why are all the articles repeated so many times on the homepage and why do I constantly have to sign in again and again. I rarely need to sign in with my nytimes password. It’s a very very frustrating interface and experience. Especially given that the monthly cost is so high.
10. [R61] 1/5 · US Dreadful: The 24-hour “day pass” is a fraud. Debits your Apple ID balance, and then fails to load. Robs your account of the fee. If you are hankering for digital access to the Philadelphia Inquirer… best to go to the website and look for offers the traditional way. Avoid the Apple access.
11. [R17] 1/5 · US Predatory Subscription Practices: This paper makes it near impossible to cancel without a call or chat.
12. [R46] 1/5 · US Scam newspaper: Will continue to charge you, even after you cancel. No one ever responds, continue to fraudulently charge peoples credit cards. Do not subscribe to these this highly unethical newspaper.
13. [R71] 1/5 · US Can not cancel without calling / crazy ‘click bait’ ads: Hard to trust a news organization that uses tactics to make it hard to cancel or change your subscription. Really damages the trust I have in them. Can not cancel online or via app. WSJ does the same shady stuff. I assumed inquirer was better than them. The ads are really intrusive. I honestly think they are as bad as pop ups from click bai
14. [R15] 5/5 · US Great Way to Stay Informed: And it’s a non-profit, not owned by billionaires! All the news that fits, they print … unlike one larger national paper from New York.
15. [R121] 5/5 · US Highest quality journalism: It’s a joy and priviledge to read the news presented with true integrety, intelligence, depth and balance.
16. [R142] 5/5 · US Keeping up to date: The Inquirer app is a great way for me to keep up to date across all topics, both regionally, nationally, and internationally. It is very well written and presented.
17. [R164] 5/5 · US Local news: At a time when I am overwhelmed with national news, and am socially distancing at home, I rely on the Inquirer to keep aware of what is happening locally. Thank you
18. [R9] 5/5 · US My Inquirer: I rely on Will Bunch’s column
19. [R43] 5/5 · US Excellent, in terms of content and ease of navigation.: I read the Inquirer and (mainly) the Daily News for Philadelphia sports news. It’s all there, everything from game results to stats to analysis and opinion. When the Phillies or Eagles make a roster change, that’s where I find out about it. Their three primary sports columnists each have their own style and are always enlightening. There are
20. [R89] 5/5 · US Sports: That Pompey keeps pumping out. He’s seems to have the inside info. He’s doesn’t always say what I want to hear. But he keeps it real. He’s not a homer he gives objective reports. I wish he could give Boxscore after the games. Seems your paper has stopped that.
21. [R149] 3/5 · US Great sports coverage, but....: Five years ago I read the Inquirer front to back. The Inquirer has drifted left in their news coverage. I avoid reading anything but sports now. If not for the sports I would not have the app at all. I don’t want a right leaning paper, just appear unbiased.
22. [R2] 4/5 · US 👍: App has improved a lot!
23. [R52] 4/5 · US Updated: mostly solid online edition of newspaper: Update December 2024: The app is now pretty solid and provides a good reading experience. It’s easy to navigate and double-clicking gets you a one-page version of an article (vs paging through the “paper” to get to the rest of an article. That said, there’s a basic feature missing. You should be able to “clip” any article and share it. There are
24. [R64] 5/5 · US Great news, great incremental app improvements: Thank you for being my hometown rag, and stoked to see the dark mode setting in newer versions. I often read news in the dark so it’s a setting I enjoy.
25. [R110] 4/5 · US Best digital product Inquirer has ever had: Solid app with a good design.
26. [R66] 5/5 · US 5 Stars Just for Using App Store Subscriptions: If nothing else, I would give this app 5 stars for letting me subscribe (and unsubscribe) to the Inquirer through the App Store, which means I don’t have to call and fight with a retention specialist if I ever want to cancel. Fortunately, the app itself is fantastic to use. Performs well on iPhone and iPad, and has a great “full newspaper” view that
27. [R93] 5/5 · US Best Newspaper App on iPad: Disregard the negative reviews over the bias behind this paper; That is the equivalent of complaining about the lack of steak options at a vegan restaurant. As a engineer in the software industry, I can say that the team at the Inquirer has far exceeded expectation for what a news app should be and set the bar for what is to be expected for competition. The user experi
28. [R106] 5/5 · US Essential!: A must have to keep up with Inquirer coverage! The updates are timely and there is still the option to read the Inquirer of school with the paper facsimile- perfect!
29. [R14] 3/5 · US 16 GBs?!: I love the app for news and viewing the paper but something needs to be fixed with the cache/storage. I don’t download papers and yet the app is still occupying 16 GBs of memory at present and it grows each time I use it. I end up having to constantly delete, redownload, and log back-in in order to use the app and my iPad in general. This has only been an issue in the last 3 months. Real
30. [R16] 3/5 · US Memory Hog: Love the app and paper but it currently is using 9gb of memory on my phone. Why? I am going to have to delete the app.
31. [R20] 5/5 · US Recent update doesn’t allow landscape: I always loved this app but the recent app update no longer allows reading in landscape. This is very annoying when reading on an iPad as you have to turn the iPad around and stand it upright. This doesn’t work well with most iPad cases. Please allow both landscape and portrait.
32. [R22] 1/5 · US Latest update is a downgrade: How do I go back to last version? This one is not switchable to landscape - why?
33. [R23] 1/5 · US Awful update: New update will not rotate on my IPad. So I can’t read it easily. Not acceptable. I hate it. Might drop my subscription.
34. [R44] 2/5 · US Slow and jumpy: App trying to do way too much, and serving up ads slows down scrolling and reading stories everyday. So frustrating at times I just close out. Too bad since content pretty good. Recently added a new feature - app slows to serve up ads, then freezes and shuts down. Nice.
35. [R35] 1/5 · US Fix this app: Fix this app. It won’t open on an iPhone 16. Broken for at least 2 weeks.
36. [R36] 3/5 · US App not loading: The App has been "experiencing difficulties" for quite a while. Am I the only one?
37. [R37] 1/5 · US Won't load to open: The new version of the app takes forever to load when trying to open it, if it does at all. I still prefer the old layout, though I get they were trying to keep it competitive. This product though is far from keeping up let alone competitive with other news apps. Will delete until a new version is available/bugs are fixed.
38. [R38] 1/5 · US Won’t Load: App won’t load on IPad 11. It states to use inquirer.com. I believe it started when I installed IOS 26 but it may have been since your last release. I would like a credit for my subscription if it’s not fixed shortly