# Revel by Pearson — user reviews > 173 indexed App Store user reviews of Revel by Pearson by Pearson Education, Inc., rated 4.70/5 from 8,884 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/revel-by-pearson/id1088745696/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/revel-by-pearson/id1088745696.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 7,589 · 4★ 725 · 3★ 234 · 2★ 96 · 1★ 240 ## What do users think of Revel by Pearson? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🚀 Convenient app for accessing textbook - 👍 Good learning tool with interactive features **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs - 🔍 Poor user experience and interface - 🔇 Audio playback issues - 📱 Not optimized for mobile devices - 💾 Unreliable sync and data saving **Commonly reported bugs** - Orientation issues when switching between pages - Highlighting and text selection problems - Inconsistent audio playback controls - Frequent crashes and freezes - Incompatibility with newer iOS versions **Most requested features** - Add portrait mode and zoom options - Improve highlighting and note-taking features - Implement bookmark/progress saving - Allow offline access to textbook content ## Newest reviews (17 of 173) ### 2/5 — Miserable *2026-06-25* This app is an absolute nightmare for navigating your textbooks. There is no sidebar or dropdown menu to navigate and quickly change sections/chapters. To make it worse, if you minimize the app or close it and come back, it spits you back out to the home page. So if you’re half way through a chapter, the only way to get back is to go the beginning and grudgingly scroll through each section you’ve read and click through each of them ONE AT A TIME in order to get back to your spot. The convenience of having your textbooks mobile is completely negated by how long and frustrating it takes to get where you need to. This is such a simple tool that any app in this realm should have. ### 2/5 — Functions, but not fun *2026-03-29, version 8.11.369* I find it infuriating that I cannot alter the orientation of the screen, only horizontal orientation is available. The content loads but often doesn’t load the questions that are assigned. At least it’s more user friendly than using the browser version. ### 3/5 — Portrait mode needed and more *2026-02-01, version 8.11.368* I’m just starting to use this app for school coursework, so I’m sure I’ll have more to say over the semester. I do like the convenience of using Revel on my iPad versus my laptop, however portrait mode would greatly improve the use of this app and is a simple enough addition to the UI, making the user experience so much better. Highlighting is a pain, I can’t get the right words, it’s hard to really see what I’m even highlighting, and if you want to highlight cross-paragraph, good luck. It changes your highlight to start at the next paragraph and doesn’t let you highlight more. One paragraph at a time. Please add a voice playback speed of 1.25x! This app has the potential to be really useful but right now it’s lacking. I’d prefer to use it over my laptop or phone though. ### 3/5 — One issue *2025-09-13, version 8.11.366* Works fine but I really wish when you go to highlight something the pop up wouldn’t block what you need to highlight ### 2/5 — App is glitchy *2025-07-17, version 8.10.360* Trading some reviews from 5 years ago- some of the same issues still persist - audio function sometimes plays a single topic and other times keeps playing. Can’t take simple quizzes on the phone app - not sure why they restrict this. Synching across devices is sporadic if it works at all. I’ve had problems completing some tasks even when I’ve read and done the tasks - just won’t change % to 100. I’ve spent hours and even tried online on the website, also on a tablet as well as phone. Nothing changes 89% to 100%. ### 3/5 — App is getting stuck *2025-06-23, version 8.10.360* It does not go back to the place were you last finished reading and sometimes my highlighted notes disappear. The reading orientation is fixed in one way and it wont rotate when I move it it up and down, it stays in the sideways view. ### 2/5 — Poor audio setup *2025-06-07, version 8.10.360* Audio stops when mobile phone screen turns off. Audio slider doesn’t work properly - can’t start at desired position. ### 2/5 — What is the point *2025-05-08, version 8.10.357* Overall, it isn’t horrible but what makes this a 2 is the fact that I can’t seem to understand the point of not allowing the app to be put in split screen, especially considering this is meant for students (most have iPads). I can’t seem to be bothered to switch back and forth between my note app and this app. Considering how expensive textbooks are, I fear this should be a necessity. Because of this, I have to use the website version which is also incredibly slow and glitchy. Please focus on adding this as this has been a problem for my past two semesters of school and likely a problem for other students. We shouldn’t have to use two devices. ### 1/5 — Mediocre at best *2025-01-23, version 8.10.357* Won’t even let you go on to the next chapter just freezes. ### 2/5 — Landscape only for iPads *2025-01-19, version 8.10.357* I have it on my iPad and I cannot change it to portrait mode. I absolutely hate reading stuff in landscape. There should be an option choose between landscape and portrait mode. I now have to read my textbook on my phone instead because of this. ### 1/5 — Bad *2025-01-14, version 8.10.357* As I’m completing assignments, the app will crash completely losing all of my progress and considering this is an app meant to be on your phone. It surely isn’t designed for that. Many things are cut off simply because it is designed for a laptop screen, but the whole point of this app is to be used on the phone. Very stupid. Makes me regret buying the E textbook rather than the hardcopy. ### 1/5 — Poor app functionality *2025-01-12, version 8.10.357* For some reason, Revel does not allow me to access textbook pages from the textbook tab. Instead, it forces me to only view our « assignments » which were already deemed optional by our instructors. The only work around to this strange bug is to bookmark something on a page I’d like to read on my desktop, then navigate to that bookmark in the app. The website was extremely slow so at least the app was faster. The settings on the app seldom worked and none of the colour customizations changed anything. There were few help pages to resolve my issues and the lack of instruction around the app’s functionality was irritating. Overall the technology supporting this textbook made reading insufferable and I was glad that I didn’t have to use this platform again. ### 1/5 — Shared writing task crashes the app *2025-01-10, version 8.10.357* Please fix ### 1/5 — i don’t understand how this app has a 4.4 *2025-01-09, version 8.10.357* someone on reddit made a post saying they would “rather drop out and work for free at mcdonalds cleaning the toilets out for the next 40 years hoping i get hit by a bus on the walk home everyday than ever use this joke of a program” and that about sums up my experience ### 1/5 — No page numbers??? *2024-12-02, version 8.10.355* How did I spend $100 to have a textbook that doesn’t even have page numbers. In an academic world with referencing for every assignment, Revel has proven how absolutely irrelevant it is. What a waste of money. ### 2/5 — Course Updates *2024-12-01, version 8.10.355* Says update required but when tapping, nothing happens. Need to fix! ### 3/5 — Audi not working *2024-11-04, version 8.10.355* Please see that audio doesn’t continue on its own doesn’t play right needs to be fixed really bad audio experience PLEASE fix ASAP ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Buttons not working half the time *2026-05-06, version 8.11.369* No matter what button I push or how many times, they won’t work. This is extremely frustration as I work on school work both at home and while I’m working, I don’t have time to just wait for it to randomly work. It will occasionally work and then I better hope my phone doesn’t turn off or I’ll have to wait another who knows how long for it to work again. ### 1/5 — A textbook that is only Quizzes *2026-03-16, version 8.11.368* If I use this on anything other than a web browser I have to search for 5-10 minutes to find the textbook. If I want to take quizzes it’s great, but when this is the only option for my textbook I’m left frustrated. If I want to change the orientation it starts only taking up a portion of my screen and I can’t do anything about it. Every time I open the app it asks if I have an account and if I want notifications, I can’t alter notifications to actually help me remember to do assignments either. Nothing about this app feels intuitive and I am left spending money to not use a textbook essentially. ### 1/5 — Leaders in education that suck. *2026-03-12, version 8.11.368* Per normal we find ourselves as students in the capitalist monopoly on textbooks and education with an industry leader who can’t manage to make a simple basic app that functions appropriately. As if university wasn’t enough to deal with now we get textbooks you literally cannot open and read on apps that don’t function but who’s existence is used to justify not just allowing basic functions like viewing the text on a mobile browser. I would say do better Pearson, but we all know you won’t since we all required to throw our money away on your products whether you do or not. ### 1/5 — Frustrating to use as primary study textbook *2026-01-24, version 8.11.368* This app functions well enough, but I am constantly frustrated by how poor much of the basic implementation is. The audio playback feature has to be carefully engaged with, and pausing will skip you to a new section—it is far from the standard that should be expected from a professional app such as this. The highlighting feature has often blanked out on me, and the study tools. Suffice to say, I have come to dread Pearson supported courses at my college. ### 1/5 — Horrible app *2025-07-15, version 8.10.360* This app is just horrible. Super long delays when turning a page. You can’t access a specific page without having to go through each part of a chapter. Search function just causes the app to crash. I hope that all students do not have to use this horrible app. ### 1/5 — textbook not displaying? *2025-07-02, version 8.10.360* it allowed me to log in and my courses are showing up, along with my textbook. but when i open to read the contents it is completely blank, kinda disappointing ### 1/5 — This app is horrendous. *2025-04-30, version 8.10.357* Want constant pop ups every time you open the app, asking you the same thing every time? Want the audiobook feature to barely function, and have the skip buttons for example to literally not work? Want the inability to copy text, or properly highlight or annotate? Then ig this piece of garbage is for you. ### 1/5 — HORRIBLE BUT I NEED THIS APP PLEASE FIX IT!!!! *2025-03-29, version 8.10.357* i want to actually graduate so i need my textbook to study for my finals i do not need the app taking away my read audio option and not even letting me switch pages, glitching, crashing. AT THIS POINT GIVE ME A PAPER TEXTBOOK PLEASE ### 1/5 — Incredibly Frustrating. *2025-02-06, version 8.10.357* As the title says, this app (& the website) is so freaking frustrating to use especially as a student with learning disabilities. Several app and site crashes, the audio won’t play at times, trying to highlight cuts words off, flash cards not flipping right, etc. I would NEVER touch this company again if I didn’t have to use them for accessing the quizzes and exams. I would love to say even more but don’t want my review to go unposted or flagged. ### 1/5 — Make a split screen code *2025-01-30, version 8.10.357* How in the world is this not already an option. College kids are using this app daily for homework and constantly are reading their designated chapters and taking notes. Well you’d think this app designer would recognize that but clearly not. Make this change college students aren’t using the notes inside the app but rather using a notes app they already purchased that has all their other notes. Make this change. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — ? *2025-06-23, version 8.10.360* Nice ### 5/5 — good app design *2025-02-13, version 8.10.357* looks nice ### 5/5 — Perfect for Uni - reload require for update as doesn’t work *2023-11-11, version 8.9.282* Pain when update arrives because you must uninstall the app!!! But when it’s on it’s easy to navigate and simple to use. ### 5/5 — Educational *2023-03-10, version 8.7.269* Besides it’s education side, it is a great tool to revise ### 5/5 — Great for Auditory Learners *2020-08-27, version 6.5.210* I love that I can download the text and listen whenever I have time. It’s been invaluable to be able to listen to the text. I don’t think I’ve ever retained information from a text so well! I can listen to it running, folding laundry, cleaning my room just like I would a podcast and then assess my understanding and retention through the built in optional quizzes whenever I have time. I love it so far. ### 5/5 — Waste less *2017-09-16, version 2.0.081* I couldn't even do assignments on the app. My ebook did show, and I couldn't even work in assignments for my class. This app is 100% worthless. It says to "download" course but it would get to 90% and freeze and say try again. I really wanted this app to would and tried to get it to work for 3 weeks. ### 4/5 — 1.25x Playback Speed Needed *2025-05-26, version 8.10.360* The IPadOS version does not have 1.25x playback speed ### 4/5 — Crashing *2024-06-19, version 8.10.333* For some reason the app keeps kicking me out and crashing. It is very inconvenient especially when I am answering written questions and I have to keep starting over. Pls fix the app. ### 4/5 — Love the idea, actuality has some issues *2024-01-31, version 8.10.284* I read someone else’s review that said the exact same way that I felt—and theirs was from 4 years ago so I don’t have faith the issues will be resolved. But the idea behind how this app works is awesome! I drive a lot so the read to me function is a life saver….when it works. Sometimes the play button won’t even do anything, sometimes it reads a whole chapter, sometimes I can’t get it to even go beyond the introduction. The web based version seems to work much more seamlessly. But man, I wish this app would! ### 4/5 — It actually works now *2023-10-20, version 8.9.282* An update or so ago it was completely broken, wouldn't even open a textbook. Now it actually works, and really that should be the only expectation with this kind of thing. --- *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 2026-08-30.*