# The Spectator Magazine — user reviews > 243 indexed App Store user reviews of The Spectator Magazine by The Spectator (1828) Ltd, rated 4.80/5 from 1,848 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-spectator-magazine/id568014889/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-spectator-magazine/id568014889.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 1,634 · 4★ 136 · 3★ 27 · 2★ 7 · 1★ 44 ## What do users think of The Spectator Magazine? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 👍 Best writing every week - 👍 Compulsory reading! - 👍 Fabulous - 👍 Great - 👍 Fantastic editorial. - 👍 Well designed app for a great publication - 👍 Love this magazine it's fantastic great writers - 👍 Spectator'Spectacular - 👍 Fantastic Content - 👍 Great when travelling - 👍 Simply put, the finest magazine in the world. - 👍 Worthy and sensible - 👍 Why The Spectator? - 👍 Outstanding Content - 👍 Being well dressed - 👍 Spot on analysis - 👍 Review good magazine - 👍 Best magazine! - 👍 No boundaries in this rag - 👍 Consistently Superb - 👍 Excellent reading materials - 👍 The only thing left to trust. - 👍 Finally a decent news app - 👍 Excellent magazine but app doesn't work on older phones - 👍 Give it a try - 👍 A classic read - 👍 Excellent **Cons** - 🐛 Password Hell - 🐛 Overrepresentative of the Jewish standpoint. - 🐛 Outstanding content but poor navigation (UI/UX) and no author favourite option. - 🐛 Some bright spots in a mostly dark room - 🐛 Terrible for offline use - 🐛 Content okay, platform terrible - 🐛 What's this? Advertising on the app??? - 🐛 SIGN IN IMPOSSIBLE - 🐛 Hopeless login - 🐛 Beware - 🐛 Terrible - 🐛 Desperately needs an audio player like substack - 🐛 Subscribed but cannot access online content. - 🐛 It just won't load! - 🐛 Significantly Degraded - 🐛 Unreliable - 🐛 No app support - 🐛 RAM management bug - 🐛 Logging In - 🐛 Seize - 🐛 App loses its place when phone locks - 🐛 Frustrating and near impossible to use - 🐛 The app is a disaster - 🐛 New version difficult to use - 🐛 Unutterably awful new app - 🐛 Problem trying to read offline - 🐛 Swiping to left to advance page is sometimes non responsive - 🐛 Keeps crashing - 🐛 Can't even get to the article to read it! - 🐛 Simply awful app **Commonly reported bugs** - Password not recognized - App crashes frequently - Offline reading issues - Login problems - Navigation difficulties **Most requested features** - Add a favourite author section to be notified of new articles - Add an audio player like Substack - Improve offline reading functionality ## Newest reviews (17 of 243) ### 5/5 — As a tribute to Rod… *2026-08-06, version 8.1.7* Support Toby Young’s Free Speech Society. Rod would approve. ### 5/5 — Indispensable *2026-08-02, version 8.1.7* Beautifully written - brimming with ideas, insight and originality on politics, new books and the arts. ### 5/5 — Cheaper and more effective than psychotherapy.. *2026-07-02, version 8.1.7* First class insights, a balm for your sense of humour, a magnet for common sense, a trusted lens through which to observe and sift the dross of MSM output. ### 5/5 — The best magazine *2026-06-25, version 8.1.7* I love all your British commentary but also American and even the Australian piece on right-wing insurgence à la Pauline Hanson. Keep up the good work! ### 4/5 — Not always great *2026-06-23, version 8.1.7* Having subscribed for about ten years I don’t things have improved under Gove, who seems like it as his personal mouthpiece. In addition too often the click bait headlines dont deliver. Otherwise it’s great and I never tire of Liddel, Murray’s, striver et al ### 5/5 — Much improved *2026-05-16, version 8.1.7* More interesting than it previously was. ### 5/5 — Political Football Spectator *2026-05-13, version 8.1.7* Just like at a football match the Spectator is informed, balanced and credible while most moan. ### 2/5 — Where is the audio option *2026-05-12, version 8.1.7* The lack of audio option is a big flaw in the app and an increasingly inexcusable one in the world of AI … have a look at what ElevenLabs can do and make a deal with them ### 5/5 — I’m luvvin it me *2026-05-09, version 8.1.7* Marvellous isn’t the word. ### 5/5 — Found a good rag *2026-05-06, version 8.1.7* Nice to read the news knowing I’m not the only sane person on this planet, keep it up keep it witty and to the point 👍 ### 3/5 — Doesn’t return to the page last being read *2026-04-03, version 8.1.2* When one switches away from the app, even fairly briefly, the article that was previously being read is forgotten, and one is back at the home page. This is infuriating, but should be simple to fix. ### 5/5 — Mr jones *2026-03-17, version 8.1.2* Mr jones likes it ### 5/5 — Bronte’ *2026-02-19, version 8.1.2* Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre. The novel is brilliantly written by the ladies of Yorkshire who wrote it in a terrible weather environment and in a non-centrally heated rooms and no guarantee of it being published. ### 5/5 — Excellent *2026-02-14, version 8.1.2* An excellent magazine. I am glad to have subscribed to it. ### 5/5 — Password Hell *2025-11-30, version 8.1.1* Every time I enter my password you say not recognised And so it goes on in an endless circle of not being recognised Password HELL ### 5/5 — Best writing every week *2025-11-20, version 8.1.1* I look forward to the Speccy every week ..from the first article to the last (and the crossword) it has the best, crisp, intelligent, well-informed and often amusing thinking anywhere. Like being at a house party with great friends. Perfect. ### 5/5 — Compulsory reading! *2025-11-11, version 8.1.1* In today’s mass of information, dis-information and social media noise, the Spectator provides thoughtful analysis and factual storytelling. In a world dominated by static noise, it’s important to have a set of logical filter. The Spectator provides that. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Worst of the worst *2026-08-15, version 8.1.9* This paper has nothing to do with news, science or politics. It’s all about rage, hate blame. I want my £1 back! ### 1/5 — Drains battery, makes phone too hot to hold. *2026-07-07, version 8.1.7* Drains battery, makes phone too hot to hold. Only one of my c.150 apps to do this. ### 1/5 — battery drain *2026-04-29, version 8.1.6* phone becomes too hot to hold ### 1/5 — Overrepresentative of the Jewish standpoint. *2025-11-06, version 8.1.1* The app works smoothly and is easy to navigate — no complaints about performance. However, the magazine’s editorial focus can feel a bit repetitive at times, with certain topics or perspectives seeming over-emphasised compared to others. A broader range of subjects and viewpoints would make it even better. I feel like the viewpoints of Judasim / Zionism is over represented. ### 1/5 — Terrible for offline use *2025-07-22, version 8.0.9* What is the point of having the ability to download the magazine if you can’t read it offline? Deeply frustrating on an aeroplane, amongst other places. Why do the articles reset, losing your place, every time that you have to switch to another window, even if only for a moment? While I love the spectator, the app is pretty hopeless. Do the publishers not use the app themselves? ### 1/5 — What’s this? Advertising on the app??? *2025-07-07, version 8.0.8* I am not happy about the advent of tacky (or indeed any) adverts in the app. I pay for a subscription and I shouldn’t have to deal with this. It’s intrusive, annoying and cheap. Stop it please or I will consider ending my subscription. ### 1/5 — SIGN IN IMPOSSIBLE *2025-06-28, version 8.0.8* INSTEAD OF BEING ABLE TO SIGN IN WITHIN THE APP USING USERNAME AND PASSWORD, THE APP FORCES ME TO SIGN IN VIA THE WEBSITE THUS COMPROMISING MY PRIVACY WHICH IS ***COMPLETELY***UNACCEPTABLE. HOWEVER THE PROCESS FAILS ANYWAY, BECAUSE INSTEAD OF ALLOWING ME TO ENTER MY PASSWORD, A CODE IS EMAILED TO MY EMAIL ADDRESS. THERE’S NO WAY TO SIMPLY ENTER MY PASSWORD. THIS MEANS I HAVE TO NAVIGATE AWAY FROM THE APP TO MY EMAIL CLIENT TO GET THE CODE AND WHEN I COME BACK, THE WINDOW IS GONE. IF I PUT MY EMAIL ADDRESS IN AGAIN I GET A NEW CODE AND THUS REPEAT AD NAUSEUM. ### 1/5 — Hopeless login *2025-06-26, version 8.0.8* Why subscribe? Frustrating to login ### 1/5 — Beware *2025-06-17, version 8.0.8* Sad to report that the Spectator has joined the Telegraph in making you jump through hoops should you have the temerity to want to cancel. Emails go into a black hole and aren’t actioned. Beware! ### 1/5 — Terrible *2025-06-14, version 8.0.6* Terrible app ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — My review *2026-08-20, version 8.1.9* First class 11 I enjoy reading The Spectator every week ### 5/5 — Essential Reading *2026-08-19, version 8.1.9* Superb journalism. Thoughtful, intelligent, informed, witty. Essential reading. ### 5/5 — The best *2026-08-19, version 8.1.9* What can I say? The Spectator reliably amazes and delights. It’s cheap at the price. ### 5/5 — Writing that reflects facts & reality!! *2026-08-19, version 8.1.9* For those who believe in an Alliance of Responsible Citizenship!! ### 5/5 — Independent journalism *2026-08-17, version 8.1.9* Wonderful to read independent thoughts by independent minds ### 5/5 — The Elder *2026-08-17, version 8.1.9* Excellent list of Journalists & articles. ### 5/5 — Few adverts *2026-08-16, version 8.1.9* I find most Spectator articles to be well written. I enjoy reading the analyses without the continuous pop-up adverts interrupting my train of thought and concentration as happens when reading the Daily Telegraph. I admit adverts do not appear in the online newspaper itself. Even so, I’m thinking of cancelling my Telegraph subscription and relying substantially on the excellent articles in the Spectator for keeping myself informed on current affairs and politics. ### 5/5 — Sliding a Bit But Still Great *2026-08-15, version 8.1.9* I’ve been a reader for years. Under Michael Gove, articles have gotten shorter and more shallow, alas. ### 5/5 — Debating fellow nobheads *2026-08-15, version 8.1.9* It’s not just the articles that are world class. You can, on a daily basis lock horns with other cranks who need an outlet to vent. We are all going down but at least the comment section makes a minute fraction of this enjoyable! love x ### 5/5 — I like the Spectator *2026-08-14, version 8.1.9* It’s Really good --- *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 2026-08-27.*