2020-06-24
The app is terrible
I have to jump through so many hoops in order to sometimes see my magazines. Horrible app
Updating
iPhone Screenshots
iPad Screenshots
Description
A subscription to Scientific American magazines is available through iTunes for $49.99 annually or $5.99 monthly and is renewed automatically at the end of the subscription term, until cancelled. Individual issues are $6.99 each. Payment for all purchases will be charged to your iTunes account. For more information, please visit iTunes Terms and Conditions: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/volume/us/terms.html
Founded in 1845, Scientific American provides expert insights on the most important and awe-inspiring advances in science and technology. With news and commentary about current events and in-depth features by experts, including more than 200 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, Scientific American is the essential guide to the modern world. Support Science Journalism. Become a Subscriber.
Scientific American Customer Service:
Email: help@sciam.com
What's New in Version 2.2
Minor bug fixes and performance improvements.
Information
Developer
Categories
Version
2.2
Size
22 MB
Game Center
No
VPP Device Licensing
Yes
Rating
Rated 12+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Medical/Treatment Information
Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References
Compatibility
iOS 10.0 or later
Devices
iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2nd generation), iPad (4th Generation) (Wi-Fi), iPad (4th Generation) (4G), iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro, iPad Pro (Cellular), iPad Pro (9.7-inch), iPad Pro (9.7-inch) (Cellular), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (10.5-inch), iPad Pro (10.5-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (11-inch), iPad Pro (11-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air, iPad Air (Cellular), iPad Air 2, iPad Air 2 (Cellular), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad Air (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini Retina, iPad mini Retina (Cellular), iPad mini 3, iPad mini 3 (Cellular), iPad mini 4, iPad mini 4 (Cellular), iPad mini (5th Generation), iPad mini (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (7th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPod touch (6th Generation), iPod touch (7th generation), Apple Watch Series 4, Apple Watch Series 5
Languages
English
App Store: Customer Ratings
Ratings & Reviews
4.5 of 5 (532 Ratings)
App Store: Customer Reviews
2020-04-26
Works Great!!! Except...
Cant put a bookmark to hold your
Places which is annoying and while I’m typing this my text isn’t showing up
2019-11-17
No way to mark stories or magazines as “finished”
If you like reading magazines in random order there’s no way to mark an article as finished. I guess they expect you to make a list on notepad or something? Really frustrating!
And, if you get a new iPad, any system based on downloading disappears because the app rests.
Please - make this useable!! Scientific American is such an iconic publication, why isn’t the app as good as the content??
2018-09-23
DON’T BUY THIS SUBSCRIPTION
Discovered that the kids were interested in the contents of SA during a trip to the dentist.
Bought a subscription in July, 2018.
Immediately got access to that edition online (via app).
Months later, realised I didn’t get a single printed copy yet and got in touch (via email and phone).
Was told their records say my subscription started on October 2018!!! We’re still in September 2018, by the way.
Now, the app has blocked my access to July and August editions. I had access to them up until a few weeks ago.
BAD APP, BAD SERVICE, TOTALLY INCOMPETENT PEOPLE RUNNING THIS OPERATION.
SAVE YOURSELF FROM HEADACHES. THIS SERVICE DOESN’T DESERVE YOUR MONEY!
2018-07-29
Ah. Science
I f you want a break from toxic news refresh your spirit with Scientific American.
2017-12-14
Poor
I have to reload the library and download my purchase each time I open the App. A real, pane.
2017-11-30
Bad app that does not believe in improving
I echo others'comments. This app is the worst.
2017-11-22
app needs improvment
Its such a great magazin and i subscribe for years, but its a pain to download your subscription on the app. as already stated from others . i ALWAYS have to lock in again to get my issue. They should learn from NG . Their app is just awesome!
2017-08-20
where are the magazines?
I can not access my paid up subscription. App just asks if I want to subscribe.
Did that!
2017-07-26
But, I DID buy it, really . . .
The app has been a constant battle to convince I do have a subscription... sigh.
2017-07-20
Very poor app
I have to log in for each new issue although I paid for a 1 yr sub. Ridiculous!
2017-06-20
Very poor app for a science magazine!
I cannot access the issues I have subscribed for. It prompts me to BUY these issues. A ripoff. Disgraceful for a magazine that promotes technology.
2017-02-15
Great magazine, terrible browser
Difficult to navigate, unintuitive menus, Incomplete and rudimentary search tools, unintuitive navigation. Spoils the pleasure of reading great articles
2017-02-01
Great magazine, terrible app!
I have subscribed to Scientific American for decades. When I bought an iPad I was delighted to find there was an app by which I could get an electronic version of the magazine. My first disappointment came when I found out I had to receive both the hard copy and the electronic version. As it turns out, that was not such a bad thing! Although I'm logged into the app, and my subscription is paid in full, every couple of month, when a new issue comes out, I find that the app it telling me I have to purchase it! I have addressed this problem with the publishers more times than I can count! The app is virtually useless! So when I travel I'm still finding that I have to carry my hard copy. I sure wish they'd address and fix this problem!
2016-12-29
Excellent journal...Worst app ever!
I love this journal (subscriber to print and digital for three years and occasional reader for 40 years).
Readability on Ipad is good.
There is a recurrent problem with the logon function!!! Every once in a while, the app asks you to pay for the most recent edition despite a valid subscription and logon to the personal account on their website (happens even to previously downloaded versions!?!).
If you are late with paying your subscription fees, you loose all previously downloaded editions on your iPad (so much for an electronic library). Contacting them doesn't get you any reaction for a long time as others mentioned.
A journal of this quality and reputation deserves a better app and a better service team!
2016-11-18
Pathetic Service
Does not run at all on iPhone or iPad with all current versions verified. All logs sent to support but for 2 weeks they are still not interested in providing any customer service.
Love the print magazine, but for one that professes to be so technically knowledgeable and can't fix a simple logon issue...
This can only be described as intentionally neglectful.
2016-10-18
Subscription cancels every month
I have to re-enter my log in information every month. Don't lose it. Otherwise, very interesting content and science vulgarization.
2016-10-17
Great magasine.
Good variation in topics.
2016-10-09
Excellent magazine
Excellent magazine for those interested in broad scientific issues.
2016-08-25
New app is ok, but please bring back the old one.
I am glad I can finally use it in landscape mode. Beyond that though, it's just boring. It used to feel like a replacement for, and even more than, the paper magazine. Now it's plain, rigid, exactly one pic per article, zero layout effort, no web articles, no one minute entries or interactive pages. If it's only the words of the articles you want, then this is the transcript application for you. Want to replace the paper magazine and save a few trees? It's not a replacement. I will seriously consider going back to print for my next renewal.
2016-07-13
SA
I prefer the printed version and always have!
Only limited experience with the online version.
2016-06-07
An once excellent app, now just ordinary.
The latest update has spoiled a once excellent app. A once simple task, deleting editions that are no longer needed, has been made convoluted. Graphics, previously an excellent feature, have been cut back drastically. In an effort to allow variable font size, the look of articles is now spartan. Shame.
2016-05-23
I can't even get into it! There is a huge glitch somewhere!
I've been going around and around trying to figure out how to get my downloaded issues back... Incredibly frustrating!!
2016-05-21
Bookmarks
I like the choice of font size. I can now read the digital version.
Search is not so good unless I am not using it properly. Last time I used it, I was not able to search for the second occurrence of a certain word. It always found the same occurrence of the word I was looking for.
And I would suggest a new feature: I (and most readers) would find it very useful if l could put a bookmark at the point where I stopped reading for the night so that I can return to that spot the next day.
2016-05-19
Not as good
New app version is not as good as previous. I liked the previous version - more like a magazine.
2016-05-18
Excellent!
Makes reading SA on the go a great experience. Well done. Thank you!
2016-05-07
An update should bring more value to readers
This latest update for tablet app clearly doesn't. All the interactive features are gone. The resolution is lower on iPad Pro. The images are embedded awkwardly. An unpleasant reading experience overall.
This used to be a great app. Please fix these issues which clearly everyone is complaining about. Otherwise you will lose many subscribers, me included.
Some feedback from SA will be appreciated. Show us that you care please!!
2016-04-19
Upgrade fail
Since the last upgrade I've lost access to my subscription. There is no way to restore purchased issues, and it's asking me to log in, I never set up a user profile before the upgrade. I don't even see an option to cancel my subscription. This is sad, such great content ruined by a crap app.
2016-04-04
thank you
Thank you for the text resizing. This is very important for older readers, making the app superior to the printed magazine at last.
2016-04-03
please bring back previous versions
As some of the other reviewers have said, this app captured the essence of the experience of reading the magazine. The integration of graphics and text worked wonderfully. The current experience is that of reading a Word file with a couple of .jpg images attached. Was this version test marketed with long-time readers? Please give back to us the experience you have faithfully provided!
2016-04-01
Huge disappointment
As the title says. Every cool feature of the app is gone, every picture and info box is crappy, and the newly added features are honestly not very helpful, maybe except the text size control. In conclusion, the new version makes it seem like this is some very low quality magazine where the readers are wondering if the papers are solid. Have no I dea why they posted this update...
2016-03-31
Significant Improvements
This update is much more stable with intuitive navigation.
2016-03-31
Garbage since the last update
The new update is garbage. The fantastic quality is gone. This used to be the best magazine in tablet format. Now it is no better than reading it on the web. Not worth the money for the subscription anymore.
2014-11-03
Fixed
My problem with downloading (see other reviews) has disappeared. I am delighted. Sci.Am. And Nat.Geog. are wonderful.
2014-10-10
iOS 8 fixed but still buggy
Having trouble scrolling up on articles. I can scroll up and get it to bounce down a bit. Sometimes I have to hold my finger on the screen to prevent it from popping back to the top. Most of the time instead of scrolling down it changes to the previous or next article instead. I have to drag my finger exactly vertical or it changes article. Very frustrating. It went from unusable to barely useable.
2014-10-08
Scientific American iPad edition is fraud
Don't buy this app! Purchases made on this app are not honored! After 3 months of use the year subscription that I made would only permit me to download the cover page of new months volumes. Any time I went past the cover, the app crashed, giving me a message to restart the app or log in to the scientific American web site. If scientific American wants me to buy the magazine from their website, then they should at least honor the subscription we take through the App Store till the subscription runs out. Buying this app is a rip off!
2014-10-04
iOS8
As a loyal subscriber to SA for at least 40 years I am very disappointed that they haven't yet updated the iPad app to be compatible with iOS 8.
2014-10-02
Not compatible with iOS 8...
App will not allow issues to be downloaded, then crashes.
2014-09-29
ios8 is out. Surprise!
Please fix your app.
2014-09-28
Doesn't work on iOS 8
All of my previous issues were lost after upgrade to iOS 8! Tried to redownload but the app doesn't allow. Please fix asap!
2014-09-23
App crash
Since I installed iOS8 on my ipad mini, SciAm app crashes when I try to download an issue. Please fix. Thanks.
2014-03-22
Still Bad
Very inflexible - no option to change type from very small font. Unable to access promised content of older issues, gave up on customer support.
2013-09-28
Whats with the price?
The digital only subscription costs basically the same as the print plus digital subscription. I must be missing something. I was hoping to stop the dead tree snail mailed version, but they refuse to charge me less. Shouldn't SciAm be progressive? Disappointing...
2013-09-02
Great app and subscription service,
I tell ya, Scientific American is doing the whole digital thing right! For the $40 you pay at their site you get access to PDFs of EVERY issue back to 1994 with no restrictions on downloading, and access to every ipad version released as well. No one else is doing this! Honestly an amazing value, especially since articles very often cite past articles with similar content. Makes it very easy to go back when you have access to every issue. Plus, they are doing a great job on their ipad version, very well put together!
2013-03-14
Great Digital Adaptation
I subscribe to the print magazine and was happy to learn that the digital version is available for free to subscribers.
This digital adaptation of the print magazine is fantastic. There are interactive features (e.g., sizeable images, links to videos, online content accessible in-app) that really enhance the experience. Reading is also a pleasure, as the content is laid out in columns just like in the print magazine. I actually read SA on my iPad over the print version, and may forgo the print subscription for a digital one.
If there was one feature I wish to be incorporated, it'd be selectable text for definitions using the built-in dictionary. However, this may be more on Apple's end than SA's.
I highly recommend SA to anyone who enjoys in-depth science and research.
2012-11-16
SA works better as a PDF in iBooks
It is nice to get the download automatically, but the application is a memory hog and you don't see everything that you see in the PDF version. I was only through part of my first issue before I got rid of it. IBooks works much better and is much more comfortable to read. Sorry, SA, your iPad version needs work.
2012-09-23
Can
I love SciAm, but I have spent hours trying to sign in and can't (I'm a digital subscriber, I know I have my login info correct but it keeps saying "authentication failed"). I emailed support the other day and no response yet. If I get a response and I can sign in I will change my rating. Has anyone else had this issue? Any ideas? UPDATE: Almost a MONTH and STILL no response from customer service, what is going on!?
2012-08-27
Digital subscriptions
I am using the original iPad, but the display looks great to me. I can confirm the digital subscription works with this app at no extra charge. I had no trouble signing in. The app was long overdue, but otherwise works exactly as advertised.
2012-08-13
No Retina Display Support
Great content, but an eyesore for anyone who owns a Third Generation iPad.