Foreign Affairs app review: a Newsstand app for the leading publication about foreign affairs

Introduction

Foreign Affairs by the Council on Foreign Relations is a digitally published version of the magazine Foreign Affairs. Within this Newsstand app, you can buy and download all the different issues from this magazine. This way you can take Foreign Affairs magazine with you everywhere you go!

The magazine talks mainly about foreign politics, but also covers other problems that are happening in the world. In some cases writers interview famous American people too. The magazine is aimed at the more intelligent reader.

Simply the Magazine

Ever since I started reading magazines on my iPad, I’ve been expecting more and more from what these digital magazines have to offer. It should be pretty easy for the developer to put in a bit more interactivity and make their magazine stand out on the Newsstand. Regrettably, Foreign Affairs magazine doesn’t do anything extra to make this digital magazine more attractive than the print version. No interactivity is offered at all. The digital version is exactly the same as the print version, and this includes all the ads. The least they could have done is make the ads interactive, so you would be able to go straight to the advertiser's website!

It’s a huge letdown for any spoiled magazine reader on iOS.

 

Free for Subscribers

If you’re already a subscriber to the print version of Foreign Affairs magazine, you can log in via the app and you will be able to download all the issues for free. If you’re not a subscriber, you can buy each magazine individually, or you can buy a subscription. Weirdly enough, the single issues are all priced differently, so it’s never really clear what you get when you pay for it. Some issues are a lot bigger than other ones. These single issues range in price between $4.99 and $9.99.

When you choose to take a subscription, it will cost you $34.99 per year. Each issue covers two months, so you will pay for six issues. But remember, after you pay, you will still get all the ads that are in the magazine. It might be better to get a print subscription and get these ones for free. The app contains a free test read issue.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Free for subscribers
• Highly intelligently written articles

 

Cons

• Exactly the same as the print version
• No interactivity whatsoever

 

Conclusion

Foreign Affairs magazine is a very good magazine about politics and other foreign affairs. It’s really well-written, and if you’re interested in this kind of stuff, you should definitely give it a read. If you decide to take a subscription, I would go for the printed version, as you will get the digital one for free while also getting the printed version delivered to your house. The developer has chosen not to add in any extras in the digital version.

The app is only available for iPad and requires 6.4 MB of storage space, plus each issue.