# THE BLADE — user reviews > 97 indexed App Store user reviews of THE BLADE by The Toledo Blade Company, rated 4.02/5 from 2,110 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-blade/id1290364358/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-blade/id1290364358.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 1,154 · 4★ 415 · 3★ 197 · 2★ 101 · 1★ 237 ## What do users think of THE BLADE? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🚀 Convenient news source - 👍 Easy to consume news format - 🚀 Timely news delivery - 🚀 Useful for local news **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes - 🐛 Unreliable article loading - 🐛 Slow performance - 🐛 Buggy navigation - 🐛 Incomplete content - 🔒 Forced to pay for access **Commonly reported bugs** - Sections fail to load - App freezes and crashes - Inconsistent performance - Forced updates with no delay option **Most requested features** - Ability to adjust text size - Vertical display option - Search functionality - Archiving of past editions - Improved photo viewing experience ## Newest reviews (20 of 97) ### 2/5 — Little alert box is annoying, needs to be fixed *2026-03-10, version 5.4.18* At the bottom when the app loads up, a white box with an “important” story pops up seemingly with no prompt from the user and with no way to shut it off. Once it pops up, it has to be manually closed and also prevents the newest edition prompt from automatically loading. I’ve complained directly to the Blade but apparently they’re too busy making required updates that are mandatory before you can use the app. So much for One of America’s Great Newspapers ### 3/5 — Crash’s *2025-10-04, version 5.4.13* Regularly have to delete the app and reinstall it to see the next addition. But the Blade is a great source of news in my opinion. ### 2/5 — Stop forcing Update!! *2024-11-19, version 5.4.7* Overall a good app, but the constant forcing to do an update as soon as a new version is published has got to stop! At least give some time to use the previous version-Especially until you can confirm that the new version is a stable release. Another suggestion-Have an option to avoid loading “games” imbedded into edition-Loading currently takes forever. ### 3/5 — Need the ability to adjust text size *2024-09-07, version 5.4.2* This app has improved greatly over the years but there is one more feature that could be added to make the experience much better. When you click on an article it would be great to be able to adjust the text size like other news apps. While you can pinch and zoom you then have to scroll back and forth to view each line of text making you sea sick. ### 2/5 — First photo on section “A” page one(1) does not load correctly. *2024-04-07, version 5.3.1* You must get out of the whole edition and restart all over again. Bad programing error? ### 2/5 — Disappointment *2024-03-26, version 5.3.1* In this day and age you’d think that an app wouldn’t fail to load and update properly on a regular basis. I end up having to delete and reinstall the ad just to read my paper. For a newspaper that is solely electronic 5 days a week this shouldn’t be a problem. ### 1/5 — Typical Blade *2023-11-04, version 5.1.0* The Blade app continues to misfire and work intermittently. Seems to be the standard for “One of Americas Great Newspapers”. Sad but true. ### 1/5 — The worst app *2023-10-22, version 5.1.0* Blade management, spend a few dollars and develop an app that actually works. From a longtime PAID subscriber ### 2/5 — Still slow *2023-10-21, version 5.1.0* NewsSlide still loads slowly. I’ve waited 21 minutes for it to populate. It’s a slick design that appears to be too data heavy. Reduce the image resolution and speed up the response time. ### 2/5 — Great when working… *2023-09-23, version 5.1.0* The app has been giving me issues everyday for the last couple of months. It’s extremely slow to open and usually just times out without loading. I finally uninstalled the app and redownloaded it. It seems to be working again. I don’t understand why regular updates aren’t enough to keep the app working correctly. ### 2/5 — So glitchy *2023-09-13, version 5.0.6* So disappointing. Have gone days where new editions will not load. Advise from tech was to delete and reinstall. Had to do this again last week. Articles are cut off at the last couple of lines. Trying to read an article today with the last lines cut off is what inspired me to post this review. ### 3/5 — Connection *2023-09-05, version 5.0.6* Sometimes the connection to the original Blade doesn’t work. ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work! *2023-07-07, version 5.0.6* Trying to read in the regular newspaper format and all it gives me is the e slide highlights. I hate this new app. ### 1/5 — Slide *2023-06-30, version 5.0.5* I prefer the entire paper, not just the stories presented on Slide. ### 1/5 — Still a struggle *2023-06-28, version 5.0.5* I downloaded this app after getting warning emails about discontinuing other apps. I have used the white “The Blade” with the blue B for years with no issues. I can’t find the equivalent of local news even though the App Store info shows it. I tried to read “Frog Around Town” and it won’t let me page down through the article on my iPhone 13 - this is in NewsSlide mode. When I view the “Features” - there is not enough contrast between the written article titles and the pictures which makes the words very hard to read. I’m honestly shocked this has not improved. ### 3/5 — Terrible *2023-06-20, version 5.0.5* The previous method to read this was much better this is hardly an improvement. There company overall is not well managed or ran efficiently ### 1/5 — Bad format *2023-06-20, version 5.0.5* Not easy to use. ### 1/5 — Logging in constantly *2023-06-20, version 5.0.5* It’s ridiculous that every time you push a notification through the app, I’m forced to log in again. ### 4/5 — Continually Freezes on IPad / FIXED *2023-06-18, version 5.0.5* We are directed to this app as of June 2023 for reading The Blade online. It works for flipping through the pages. But when I want to enlarge an article the app freezes. Very frustrating! I preferred a different app which I guess will no longer be updated. Sigh! After writing the above, I tried deleting the app and reinstalling. Now it works as intended. Another reviewer suggested this. Might be useful to add this info on the page directing people to this app. ### 1/5 — New Blade on iPad *2023-06-15, version 5.0.5* This is so ridiculously put on my iPad I can’t make heads nor tail how to use it. I loved getting the old Blade. I now will probably find new news paper. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Not happy blade *2026-05-20, version 5.4.18* I’ve been trying to get on since 8 am what is going on😖 ### 1/5 — Glitching *2026-03-23, version 5.4.18* The site now wants me to sign In every time I open it up ### 1/5 — Memory hog! *2026-02-23, version 5.4.17* After a couple weeks I check my storage and the Blade is usung 3-5 GB! And you can't unload issues to free up memory. The only way to clear it is to remove and reinstall the app. Then I find I can't sign in, the sign in button is non-responsive! So right now it is broken, zero stars. ### 1/5 — Not happy blade *2025-08-30, version 5.4.12* I’ve been trying to get on since 8 am what is going on😖 ### 1/5 — App issues *2025-04-05, version 5.4.9* This app continues to disappoint. Can’t read my article headlines today. Deleted and installed app twice with no success so disappointing ### 1/5 — Using way too much storage *2024-04-15, version 5.3.1* This app is using 5GB on my grandmothers iPad. We can’t figure out how to free up the space. We have already deleted all the editions we could find. This needs to be made much easier and clearer, if not totally automatic. ### 1/5 — TOOK MY LAST DOLLAR *2024-02-10, version 5.3.0* First of all when did they start charging to read the newspaper? and I paid you a little dollar to read an article for the day but when I went back on the site after I paid, it says I didn’t pay that is unprofessional, that is grimy and dirty just like Toledo smh. ### 1/5 — Sections fail to load. *2024-01-19, version 5.3.0* App worked fine for weeks then sections fail to load. Specifically, the Features pages Sudoku, Spot the Difference and News Slide comics. Reinstalling temporarily resolves issue. App size keeps growing with each new addition. Must delete and reinstall periodically to clear memory. App update now pop up has no option to delay update. You either update or don’t read the blade. Not happy with announcement news slide is going away. ### 1/5 — My response to the Blade and John Block! *2023-12-26, version 5.2.0* I want to red it as a traditional newspaper! ### 1/5 — Painfully SLOW and locks up! *2023-11-22, version 5.1.0* I struggle with how this news app has received any awards. On my iPhone, it takes several attempts to get it to open, when it does open, it freezes, and then usually shuts down. I have attempted to uninstall and reinstall based on other reviews, and it’s still awful. It stinks that I pay this much to get the news via app, and it doesn’t work half the time. It’s usually easier for me just to go to a local news channel with a working app. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Rate *2022-11-02, version 5.0* I recommend this app highly, enjoy it daily. Articles well written as well as op eds. Dr Hussein is one of my favorites. Great coverage in all areas. ### 5/5 — Love the updated format for the Toledo Blade *2022-10-13, version 4.7.4* I’m retired and it’s hard to change ways, but the Blade app is hands down a great way to stay up to date on local and world perspectives from a trusted source. The alternate formats are perfect. ### 5/5 — Mostly good *2022-09-09, version 4.7.1* Works well, but hard to scan obituaries to see quickly who died. App seems to be less glitch y than it used to be, and generally works well to get a quick read on local and national news ### 5/5 — Read *2022-04-18, version 4.7.0* Stories,short and sweet. Easy to read. ### 5/5 — Local need to know, look! *2020-11-26, version 4.5.6* A quick glance from the Blade tells me information that I should know and probably look into a little further. Love the “heads up”. ### 5/5 — Still unresponsive *2020-10-02* If you like articles about network error this is the app for you. The app is incredibly unresponsive and continues to be almost unusable despite multiple patches. If I was an advertiser I would pull my adds until this is fixed. ### 5/5 — Kim Jong-un *2020-04-26, version 4.0.2* If he’s sick why is his own personal train getting closer to missile site that sick bastardized is going to take advantage of the worlds dire situation hope our intelligence is on Q maybe late Christmas present DG Amos BG. ### 5/5 — Gary McBride, retired. *2020-02-15, version 3.8.1* The Blade NewsSlide is my best source of real information I can trust when I am away from home and for keeping up on Local and State news and events wherever I am including at home. ### 5/5 — 2 stars *2020-01-16* The app near always gets stuck & does not go through. Very unreliable. When it does work, I also greatly dislike when the sight locks into an add.... making it difficult to simply get out of it. This is much of our local news. Please make it work better and stop the adds from taking over. Jack- ### 5/5 — Awesome *2019-01-03* I get all the latest news at the swipe of my thumb, its awesome to be informed of all news in my area and around the world and I recommend this app for everyone who is on the move like me and my family is thank you for making my life just a lil more convenient in these busy times we live in now. #SevenTheRev --- *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 2026-07-16.*