# NSWL — Naxos Spoken Word Library

> Audio streaming service for literary masterpieces and spoken word performances. (iPhone/iPad app by Naxos Digital Services Ltd..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nswl/id369626219 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Naxos Digital Services Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/338059162)
- Category: Books, Entertainment
- Price: Free
- Rating: 2.00/5 from 14 App Store ratings · 18 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 71 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2010-05-11
- Data updated: 2026-08-16
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nswl/id369626219/reviews.md

## What is NSWL?

Listen to first-class performances and sound from a variety of publishers at an affordable price.

Masterful presentations vividly bring to life six centuries of literary masterpieces on our pioneering streaming service, the Naxos Spoken Word Library.

## Key features

- Listen to literary performances
- Access six centuries of masterpieces
- Stream from various publishers
- Affordable audio service
- Pioneering streaming technology

## Recent user reviews (10 of 18)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nswl/id369626219/reviews.md

### 1/5 — This app is terrible.

*2026-02-23*

I had to unsubscribe to the service because this app is so bad.  The fact that I have to log in every time is slightly annoying, but I wouldn’t mind that so much if it didn’t take forever for a book to load.  Sometimes the load screen just freezes completely.  I’ve only had this app a few hours and I’ve already had to login multiple times.  Sessions should not expire while I’m listening to a book.  Such a shame because their library is excellent.

### 5/5 — Incredible collection of classic literature

*2025-09-20*

Very inexpensive access to a huge collection of classic books. Totally worth it compared to purchasing them through larger services.

### 5/5 — Great So Far

*2025-08-06*

Works great for me. I see a lot of negative reviews here, perhaps they were pre-update?

### 2/5 — Amateurish app

*2025-01-17*

The app itself:
- regularly stops and logs you out 
- browsing for titles is poor. The titles are overwhelmingly fiction but this category isn’t broken down further. You just get a non-alphabetised list of titles which you can’t sort or filter, or even limit to your desired languages. 
- search is weak but functional. You can’t search by title or author.
- book lengths are often completely wrong by an order of magnitude
- titles are broken down into small chapters usually just named by first line, rather than a book’s actual chapters. There is a several second gap between each of these divisions.
- there is no sleep function, though you’ll likely get logged out at some point if you fall asleep

The titles:
If you’re looking for established classics the range is good, especially pre-20th century. Often there is both an abridged and an unabridged title. 

There are also some very low quality titles of the sort you’d expect to find in a bargain bin - outdated self help books and the like. It’s hard to make sense of the editors’ decisions. 

I was hoping to use this service instead of Spotify as their audiobooks are limited by time and I’m mostly interest in classics. The app is so off-putting that I haven’t decided yet.

### 2/5 — Just unreliable

*2024-03-30*

Random logouts, stalled streams, failed transfers from one Bluetooth audio device to the next. There is a lot of bad code undiscovered by a developer with obviously flawed test methodology. App can’t recall the last book I was listening to or the place where I left off half the time. Content seems great, if you can get it to play and are willing to tough it out to keep it playing back content. There are not sufficient settings to tune (prev track option on headset should be configured to jump back 10s, not half a chapter. 

You should probably just fire your developers, restart from scratch and pay the Overcast people to make you a better app.

### 1/5 — I love the library and I hate this app

*2023-08-30*

The app is so terrible, I might need to cancel my subscription, which would be a shame  because the audiobook library is so good. 

Why must I log in every time I open the app again? Half the time, the screen freezes when I open the app, and I can’t even login at all. Can you at least enable facial recognition for the login routine, to save us all a lot of time and trouble? Even better — don’t make us login every single time we open the app.

### 2/5 — Limited functionality

*2022-11-29*

The library content is good but the app has limited functionality. The inability to store log in credentials (or remain logged in) is very annoying.

### 1/5 — This is possibly the worst app ever made.

*2022-11-28*

I truly app grateful that this app is available to use since I am a college student on a limited budget with lots of books to read. Nevertheless:

I wonder whether the people at Naxos even care whether their apps work well. This app is crap. It stops downloading if the screen goes into standby. That’s ridiculous. There’s no fast forward or rewind buttons in the standby screen mode. The app will only allow a certain amount megabytes to be downloaded, apparently, even when you have many gigabytes left in storage. The app crashes repeatedly for no apparent reason. Naxos would know this if they even bothered to use their own app to see how it works. Either they haven’t done this (which makes no sense if you cared whether your app works well), or they have done this and just don’t care that their app is crap.

### 1/5 — Useless.

*2021-11-20*

Can’t subscribe via app & subscription signup via website doesn’t work. Site design & coding from the Dark Ages.

Useless.

### 1/5 — Terrible app

*2019-12-11*

This app is virtually unusable at this point. I’ve downloaded an audiobook several times to listen offline but the playback always fails a couple of minutes in. What’s the point of having an audiobook app if it won’t play the audiobook.

iPhone 11, btw. Update this app.

## Frequently asked questions about NSWL

### What is NSWL?

NSWL is a pioneering streaming service that offers first-class performances and sound from a variety of publishers, bringing six centuries of literary masterpieces to life.

### Is NSWL free to use?

Yes, NSWL is available for free. The app itself does not require any payment to download or use its core features.

### Does NSWL have ads?

No, NSWL does not contain advertisements. Users can enjoy the spoken word content without interruptions.

### What devices does NSWL support?

NSWL is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices, allowing users to access its library across Apple's mobile ecosystem.

### What is the age rating for NSWL?

NSWL has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users interested in literary content.

### How often is NSWL updated?

The latest version of NSWL was released on March 2, 2026, indicating recent development activity. The app was originally released on May 11, 2010.

### What is the user sentiment for NSWL?

NSWL has a rating of 2.1 stars from 13 ratings, suggesting that users have had mixed to negative experiences with the application.

### Can I find contemporary literature on NSWL?

The service focuses on six centuries of literary masterpieces, implying a strong emphasis on historical and classic works rather than exclusively contemporary releases.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 14.1.2 — 2026-04-10

Bugs fixed.

### 14.1.1 — 2026-03-02

Bugs fixed.

### 14.1.0 — 2025-10-20

A new feature - Sleep Timer has been added.
Bug fixes.

### 14.0.8 — 2025-07-17

Bugs fixed.

### 14.0.7 — 2025-05-23

Bugs fixed.

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## More apps by Naxos Digital Services Ltd.

- [NML](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nml/id338059159)
- [NML Jazz](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nml-jazz/id347524744)
- [My First Classical Music App HD](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-first-classical-music-app-hd/id470865535)
- [My First Classical Music App](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-first-classical-music-app/id530616330)
- [My First Orchestra App HD](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-first-orchestra-app-hd/id568583429)

All apps by Naxos Digital Services Ltd.: https://appshunter.io/developer/338059162

## Related topics

[naxos](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/naxos) · [abridged](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/abridged)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-16.*