Realm User Reviews

Name: Realm - Podcast App
Rating: 4.49287 (491 reviews)

Realm - Podcast App

Serial Box Publishing, LLC

🎬 Entertainment

📚 Books

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REVISED: Paid for a year but still having to listen to ads

Well I’m finally able to use my subscription so I’m revising my first review. I was having a lot of issues but almost all things are now working properly. I’m still having to listen to ads on a few shows every now and then even though I paid for unlimited. I really do love a lot of the shows they have and I’m getting most ad free so I’m pretty happy at this point. At least they kept working with me on this. So that says a lot about this company. I would definitely recommend this app now.

Luna803

3 years ago

Subscription

I have an issue with subscription. I subscribed to Realm+ a week ago because on the website it said you can access all the episodes of the podcast I’m listening to (Bookburners) when you subscribe. I paid the fee, now all episodes on season 2 are available to listen to for me on Apple Podcasts but season 3 is still not available. I don’t know whether there’s a problem with my subscription or there was misleading information on the website since it said I would have early access to all the episodes.

ftmarj

3 years ago

Amazing stories. Maddeningly frustrating app

This is the most maddening app I’ve ever used in my life! Sometimes, the next chapter will play. Sometimes not. Ok. So, after fiddling around looking for the list of chapters (because it is not in the top title like you would think it is on the chapter you’re on, you have to do a search for the title story in the entire catalogue,) you tap the next chapter to play. Nothing. So you download it. Then you try to play it by tapping it to play. Nothing. You look at the three dots and think “maybe it will let me play.” Nope. All you can do is archive it. So you swipe and go to the downloaded files menu and tap the story…aaand get a list of chapters that don’t go with this story.

When this works it’s a JOY. God help you when it doesn’t. I don’t think these developers have ever usability tested this app. Because it’s a fight.

Heather-from-Kansas1971

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi Heather, thank you for taking the time to share your experience and we are so glad to hear you're enjoying our shows! I'm sorry that you're experiencing some bugs and we apologize for the inconvenience. If you go to the "More" menu in the app and click on "Report a problem with the app" we'd be happy to work with you to resolve this.

Content is amazing, app could use some work

I love the content Realm/SerialBox has- I work as a house cleaner so I listen to podcasts/audiobooks 4 days a week for like 6 hours. The app isn’t the best, it’s had a glitch from the beginning that doesn’t keep my place in the show, my keep playing bar at the bottom and “pick up where you left off” box are on the wrong episode most of the time when i close and re open the app. Kind of annoying, I have to go to the show details and scroll to find my episode im in the middle of

Another problem has appeared in the last week or so where when I am in the full screen player there is NO WAY to minimize it to search for a different show or skip to the correct episode im on. I have to close out the app and re open it, search my show, hit details and then find my episode. PLEASE YALL 🥴 fix this ???

meg48492982822

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi Meg, thank you for taking the time to share your experience and we are so glad to hear you're enjoying our shows! I'm sorry that you're experiencing some bugs and we apologize for the inconvenience. If you go to the "More" menu in the app and click on "Report a problem with the app" we'd be happy to work with you to resolve this.

2 years later no fix on issues

Media barons review 2 years ago mentions the exact same issues I’ve had ever since using realm. I only want to listen to orphan black and then happily never use this app or service HOWEVER I have a few more episodes but can’t even click on them if I played partial and as mentioned 2 years ago you can’t tell what episode you were on without restarting the whole episode AND THAT MEANS a whole process to get even the stupid thing to play. The UI doesn’t work. The entire scroll for the length of the podcast is wider than my iPhone 12 Pro’s screen? It’s been this way for 1+ year yet never read reviews and realizing not alone. If you want to make podcasts.. hire someone who can build a useable app at the least so people can listen with ease because this is horrific. If orphan black didn’t have 2 episodes left for me to or had ever come onto your podcast content radar to buy then I’d never use this again lol it’s awful . Hoping I can make it through this to the end… and worse is I’m paying for this???

lindseylonadier

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, so sorry you’re having trouble with our app. If you wouldn’t mind, can you please go to the “More” menu in the app and click on “Report a problem with the app”? That will give us a bit more diagnostic information about the issues (and you can include screenshots or recordings of what you’re seeing in the app), which should help us figure out what’s going on here. Again, sorry you're having frustration using the app and we'd like to help you resolve it.

Great content, wonky ui

Update: thanks to support for being so responsive! The bookmark bug is being worked on, and the chapter numbers are missing only in Marvel titles, which they are now aware of.

Original comments: Love the realm content. For the few I've listened to, the production values are quite high and the voice acting has been superb. I do have some problems with the app, however. First, a strange design choice to me is that when viewing the list of all chapters there are no chapter numbers provided. This means that I have to remember the chapter title so I can remember my place. I *do* see a chapter number when the app is open and the player is running minimized (for browsing other realm titles), so I know the numbers are there somewhere. Another issue is that there is no means to bookmark one's location while listening. This is supposed to be automatic but it doesn't always work. When listening to the Marvel's Jessica Jones title (which was great), the app returned me to the same early chapter over and over again, so I had to find my spot by hunting through the unnumbered chapter titles and basically guessing. I didn't find a means to email support with these issues so I'm posting here. I'll continue to listen to content and use the app.

lv186000

5 years ago

Response from developer

Hi there, thank you for taking the time to leave these kind words about our content, and this honest review of your experience! Our team is looking into this, since both of these features should actually be available to you. If you wouldn't mind, can you please go to the "More" menu in the app and click on "Report a problem with the app"? That will give us a bit more diagnostic information about the issues (and you can include screenshots or recordings of what you're seeing in the app), which should help us figure out what's going on here.

Clunky app and soooo much sermonizing

I love genre fic and wanted to love Realm. But the app is clunky, stories never picked up where they left off so I was forever FF, and 'wokeness' seems to be have outranked storyline, character development, and narrative to these folks. Too many of the stories dragged. The most interesting aspect of a story shouldn’t be that it’s about someone non-binary!

Reading the other reviews I see there’s so much content I never even came across! I deleted the app but I think there’s more in it than I could find. Please remove the huge orphan black header from the front page. It takes up most of the screen. Whenever I scanned for new titles I saw the same dozen, but it sounds like there’s so much more from SerialBox. Not intuitive to find!

ngurhfhdgu

5 years ago

Response from developer

Hello, thank you for taking the time to share your experience using the app, we are always grateful to hear honest feedback from listeners! I'm sorry to hear that finding new shows wasn't easy for you (you're right, we have plenty to choose from!) One tip I can offer you is that on our search page in the app, you can use the filters at the top to find the types of shows you're interested in - whether it's sci-fi, thrillers, or fantasy you're looking for, we have something for you! If you have any other feedback or questions for us, please feel free to email us at support@realm.fm!

App just crashes on launch

On aug 29, attempts to launch the app fail. I even reinstalled and installed again. I’m on iPhone 8 Plus iOS 13.3.1. I’ve used the app in the past and I was looking forward to grabbing a few new podcasts for a long trip I’m leaving on today. Guess not...

Edit - hope the devs read this. I was able to get it working by removing my iCloud backup feature for this app, plus updating to the latest iOS, then deleting the app, restarting the phone and reinstalling the app. No less steps worked. Hope this helps figure the problem out

Edit 2 - updating to 3 stars since it is working again per the above instructions and I don’t think 1 Star is fair anymore.

Thewraithl98

6 years ago

Response from developer

Hi there! Thanks for writing in and so sorry for the inconvenience here. 🤦‍♀️ We're on it. 😀Thanks for alerting us to the problem! Thanks so much for following up and letting us know! If you shoot us a quick email at info@serialbox.com, we would love to offer you a free serial for your trouble! 🎁✨

Best audio dramas around!

I’m a huge audiobook fan but the Serial Box productions take things to a whole new level. It’s a truly immersive experience where I get the soundscape and depth of a tv show or movie while still having the flexibility to be driving, cooking, gardening, etc.

And the stories, chef’s kiss of originality and awesome. The writing teams gather some of my favorite from the SciFi and fantasy genres and I’m thrilled to be able to enjoy more of their works. As a horror fan I do wish it offered more of the creepy and horror (season 2 for Silverwood??) but I’m happy to enjoy what they offer and shall keep the dream alive for more horror.

Litic

6 years ago

Response from developer

Hey @Litic, thank you for the kind words. 💚 And pardon our delay in writing you back, that's totally my fault. But we wanted to let you know that there's much, much more to come on the Horror front in 2021! 🧛🧛🧛. Can't wait for you to hear it.

A Present!

My Granddaughter signed me up and gave me “Orphan Black - the next chapter” as a present because she knew I enjoyed the series. ‘Twas great fun to both read and also hear Tatiana perform all the parts!
Since then I’ve “binge read” and enjoyed several other stories. Sometimes I enjoy listening too but usually, any more, I just binge-read / tear through ‘em! They’re captivating and THAT good!
Thank You Granddaughter for turning me on to this app!

Dav C -pdx

6 years ago

Response from developer

This review made our day 🧡. Thank you so much, and please thank your granddaughter for us as well. Being able to share great stories with our loved ones is exactly why we got into this biz in the first place.

Great stories and great support

I downloaded this app for one reason - Marvel’s Thor: Metal Gods. My review if that season is over in Goidreads, but suffice it to say I enjoyed it so much I gifted a season to one of my sons and a friend I co-write with. Then I bought Marvel’s Black Widow: Bad Blood. Only into episode 5 but enjoying it too. Just started playing Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Playing With Fire.

I’ve had a couple technical issues but they’ve solved those for me usually within a couple of hours. Some of the best support ever!! Not only great support but they reward you for spreading the love. I just got 50% off on a season pass for a series of my choice. These folks are the best!!

atillathehunee

6 years ago

Response from developer

Hey atillathehunee! So glad that you're enjoying our Marvel titles ⚡️🕷 and happy to hear we were able to support you through any tech issues! Thanks so much for spreading the love 🤗🎧

I literally just got ripped off FIXED

I was really into a podcast I found called ReMade. It was a fun story. However only one “season” of 15 episodes was available on Apple podcasts. So I did what I had to do to get the second season. Download this app and purchase it for $9.99$. So I did. Thinking I could just download them all and listen to them tomorrow as I work. I hit the button and I get a message. “Your account cannot be accessed at this time, try again later.” The my PayPal alerts “$9.99” was just charged to your account.” Really my account isn’t available? So how the do you charge me?!? This is shady and unreliable. $10 is more then I’d spend on a lot of things. Unless the fix this soon as in like an hour I’d not be doing this ever again.

EDIT: They fixed the issue. I have my content and it’s ok. I apologize to Serial Box, for jumping so fast. However I have had it happen in the past, and for a lot more money. So thank you Serial Box for fixing this. I hope what ever happened I hope it doesn’t happen again.

Damian D96

6 years ago

Response from developer

Hi there, We're incredibly sorry for your technical difficulties. I've made sure your account is properly credited with your purchase, so it should now be fully accessible to you. I've also responded to your original bug report with a few follow-up questions to see if we can figure out exactly what happened to cause the problem in the first place so that we can ensure it doesn't happen again in the future. I hope this resolves the issue for you. Thanks so much for being a Serial Boxer!

Excellent content, frustrating UI for audiobooks

Excellent content, I purchased the Orphan Black series. The user interface for the audio player is non-intuitive and lacks cues for episode, and listening places. The list of episodes don’t show progress, you have to start playing each episode to see if it’s one you last was listening to. Once playing there’s nothing on the screen showing which episode I’m on, just the ‘album’ art. The only real way for me to know my place is to delete downloaded episodes once I’m done listening to them. The scrubber is the full width of my screen which makes it impossible to drag it all the way to the left. Update: Okay, it’s supposed to have a big number of the episode but the top 1/2 of the number is cut-off so you have to guess at the episode number. I’m on an iPhone 6S+ so I’ve got plenty of screen to display it.

Media Baron

7 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, we're so sorry to hear about the hassle here. We recently implemented a few changes, including a jump back in section on our serial pages, and are working on some other big UI improvements for the future. If you encounter any more issues or have any other suggestions, please feel free to e-mail us at info@serialbox.com!

Love it!

The Serial Box series are so well done, I have a hard time not just listening to/reading a series all at once! I originally found Serial Box through the new Orphan Black series but after getting caught up on the few episodes that are available I went through the other series that Serial Box has done. I LOVED Bookburners, the narrator did an incredible job and the stories in each season really hook you in. I listened to all of the episodes way too fast but enjoyed every second of it. I am excited to explore other titles, I have a good feeling I’ll find another great one soon enough!

The Wonderfully Awesome Me

7 years ago

Response from developer

Thank you so much! You should try False Idols or Ninth Step Station!

Great stories!

As a fan of Orphan Black, I was sad to see it end. Just like so many others, I loved how Tatiana Maslany brought the different clones to life. So when I heard that the Clones were coming back in a new format, I was excited. I looked into Serial Box. So the story will continue as a hybrid audible book/ television type series. Awesome! With Tatiana performing, it has to be great!
So now I’m looking forward to the return of my favorite characters. Meanwhile, I have found another favorite actress, Summer Glau is performing a series, Alternis. I’m loving it! The world is lush, the characters are vivid in my mind. Check it out!
Storytelling is alive!

Tiger123!

7 years ago

Response from developer

Wahoo! The Orphan Black series was AMAZING to work on, so thanks for the love. Alternis and Summer Glau is sweet, too. <3

Like the podcast version of a novel!

I first learned about this app from a local author whose work I really enjoy (Curtis Chen). He did a project in collaboration with a couple other authors and it was published here (Ninth Step Station). I listened to the audio series and it was great! I love that it’s episodic like a TV show, but that it’s still a book. It’s like the podcast version of a novel!

Then I tried out a few more series and I have loved them too! The writing is enjoyable, the stories are interesting and well put together, and the narrators are wonderful.

Also, the app works nicely. It’s easy to search for things or just brows, easy to buy a season (after listening to the first episode for free!), and easy to move from one episode to the next. I am such a fan, this app is great!

warongerms

7 years ago

Best programs

The serials offered here are good enough that they got me interested in audio-only stories at all. Before Tremontaine I just didn't get the appeal. Each audio episode comes with the same media in text. A transcript is always available! This is rare and important.

Now I have hundreds of podcast subscriptions because I rebuilt my routine to include audio narratives and it has been just wonderful. It's not an exaggeration that this app has improved my life. Thanks!

blueXenologer

7 years ago

The option to write

I’m an avid reader and an amateur writer. When I’ve saw this app I had hope this was one of those read other people’s stories and write your own. This wasn’t the case. This was an app where you had to pay to read and that’s it. Paying isn’t the problem. It’s the ability to not being able to publish your own writing and getting responses from other readers. I hope in the future you guys will take into consideration that many of the people who uses your app want to be write not only read.

CastielWin890

7 years ago

Response from developer

Hey CastielWin890 - Thanks for your suggestion! While we aren't currently considering unsolicited pitches from amateur writers, we'd love to hear about any authors you'd love to see on the platform. Feel free to email us at info@serialbox.com with any ideas.

Inaccessible To Blind And Low Vision Readers

This app is inaccessible and nearly unusable to blind and low vision users that rely on Apple Voice Over for text accessibility and general app navigation. While navigating the app voice over should announce screen elements as they are touched, but the titles of the stories are not announced so that a voice over user can even determine if they want to read or listen to a story. This is an app I was very excited to see showcased in an Apple news article but disappointed that basic user accessibility features for disabled users are not implemented. Please fix this, there are millions of potential readers around the world who rely on Voice over and also love great stories.

ou812app

7 years ago

Response from developer

Hi there! Thank you so much for letting us know. We’ve just launched a new version of the app and have a number of improvements underway, including improving accessibility. If you have any other comments or suggestions that you’d like to share about what would make the app easier for you to use, please don’t hesitate to e-mail us at info@serialbox.com so we can keep them in mind as we work on these improvements. We really appreciate you writing in.