Customer Reviews (100)

Andrew Hodgins • 2025-03-24T22:36:27.503Z

Truthful .Real facts. Non partisan.

Sasha Gaines • 2025-03-24T19:49:07.184Z

I read text primarily with my ears, and downloaded the NYT app for the Audio tab. Unfortunately, the audio player is buggy. The player controls periodically disappear off the screen, at which point the only way to bring them back is to restart my entire phone.

maureen gallagher • 2025-03-24T13:21:12.575Z

this is one of the good ones

Summary of Key Insights

The New York Times app enjoys a generally positive sentiment, with a significant majority of users awarding it 5-star ratings. Users value the app for its reliable, in-depth, and independent reporting. However, a notable minority experience technical issues like app crashes, slow loading times, and problems with the audio player, which negatively impact their experience. There are also concerns about difficulty in canceling subscriptions and full-screen ads despite having a subscription. Overall, while the content is highly praised, the app's performance and user experience need improvement.

  • Overall Sentiment: Positive, but with significant frustration among some users.
  • Key Strengths: High-quality journalism, diverse content, reliable information, easy access to news.
  • Key Weaknesses: App stability issues (crashing, slow loading), audio player bugs, subscription cancellation difficulties, intrusive ads for subscribers, scrolling problems.
  • Overall Rating: High (based on review distribution), but potentially misleading due to the severity of issues reported by some users.
  • Score Distribution:
    • 5-star: 76%
    • 4-star: 4%
    • 3-star: 7%
    • 2-star: 2%
    • 1-star: 11%

Data & Methodology Overview

  • Data Sample Size: 100 reviews
  • Time Frame: Not specified, but assumed to be recent based on the version number (11.18.0) and mentions of current events.
  • Analysis Methods:
    • Sentiment Analysis: Manually assessed sentiment based on review text.
    • Keyword Extraction: Identified frequently mentioned issues and features through manual review of the text.
    • Frequency Analysis: Counted the occurrences of specific issues and feature requests.

Key User Pain Points

  • App Crashing/Instability (High): Several users reported the app crashing frequently, making it unusable.
  • Slow Loading Times (High): Many users complained about slow loading times, especially with the new version.
  • Audio Player Issues (Medium): Bugs in the audio player, such as disappearing controls, force users to restart their phones.
  • Subscription Cancellation Difficulties (High): Users reported difficulty canceling subscriptions through the app or website.
  • Intrusive Ads for Subscribers (Medium): Subscribers expressed frustration with full-screen ads despite paying for a subscription.
  • Scrolling Problems (Medium): Issues with scrolling within articles, particularly interactive ones.
  • Search Function Ineffectiveness (Low): Some users find the search feature inaccurate and unhelpful.
  • Limited Content Displayed (Low): Some users feel the app doesn't display all content available on the NYT website.
  • Text Size Issues (Low): Problems with updating text size settings.

Frequently Requested Features

  • Improved App Stability (High): Fix crashes and improve overall app performance.
  • Reliable Audio Player (Medium): Resolve audio player bugs and ensure smooth playback.
  • Easier Subscription Cancellation (High): Simplify the subscription cancellation process.
  • Ad-Free Experience for Subscribers (High): Remove or reduce ads for paying subscribers.
  • More Content from Website (Low): Ensure the app displays all content available on the NYT website.
  • Better Search Functionality (Low): Improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the search feature.
  • NYT Audio for Android app (Medium): Some users are requesting a dedicated NYT audio app similar to the one on iOS.

Strengths and Positive Aspects

  • High-Quality Journalism (High): Users consistently praise the NYT for its accurate, truthful, and in-depth reporting.
  • Diverse Content (High): Users appreciate the wide range of topics covered, including news, culture, sports, recipes, and games.
  • Reliable Information (High): The NYT is seen as a trustworthy source of news and information.
  • Easy Access to News (Medium): The app provides convenient access to news and articles.
  • Thought-Provoking Content (Medium): Users appreciate the insightful and thought-provoking articles.
  • Games and Puzzles (Medium): Users enjoy the daily puzzles, such as Wordle and Sudoku.
  • Comments Section (Low): Some users enjoy engaging with other readers in the comments section.

Prioritized Action Recommendations

  • High Priority:
    • Fix App Crashing/Instability: Investigate and resolve the causes of app crashes to ensure a stable user experience.
    • Improve Loading Times: Optimize the app's performance to reduce loading times, especially for images and interactive articles.
    • Simplify Subscription Cancellation: Make the subscription cancellation process clear and easy to access within the app and on the website.
    • Remove Ads for Subscribers: Eliminate or significantly reduce ads for paying subscribers to provide a premium experience.
  • Medium Priority:
    • Resolve Audio Player Bugs: Fix the bugs in the audio player that cause controls to disappear and disrupt playback.
    • Address Scrolling Problems: Improve scrolling smoothness and responsiveness within articles.
    • Develop NYT Audio app for Android: Create a dedicated app for audio content.
  • Low Priority:
    • Improve Search Functionality: Enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of the search feature.
    • Ensure Complete Content Display: Verify that the app displays all content available on the NYT website.
    • Address Text Size Issues: Fix any problems with updating text size settings.

Opportunities for Startup Ideas

  • Subscription Management Service: A service that simplifies and centralizes the management of various online subscriptions, including cancellation and renewal reminders. This directly addresses the difficulty users face when trying to cancel their NYT subscription.
  • News Aggregation and Personalization Platform: A platform that aggregates news from various sources (including the NYT, with proper licensing) and personalizes the user experience based on their interests and preferences, while ensuring a stable and user-friendly app experience.
  • Enhanced Audio News App: An app focused on high-quality audio news content, offering features like offline playback, customizable playlists, and improved audio player controls. This is relevant to the NYT app as some users have requested a better audio experience.
  • Accessibility-Focused News Reader: An app designed specifically for visually impaired users, offering features like text-to-speech, customizable font sizes, and simplified navigation. The NYT app could integrate these features or a separate app could be created.

Trends and Observations

  • Polarization of Reviews: The reviews are heavily skewed towards either very positive (5-star) or very negative (1-star), suggesting a bimodal distribution of user experience. This indicates that while many users are satisfied, a significant minority is highly dissatisfied due to specific issues.
  • Focus on Content Quality: Positive reviews consistently emphasize the quality and reliability of the NYT's journalism.
  • Technical Issues as Primary Driver of Negative Reviews: Negative reviews primarily focus on technical issues, such as app crashes and slow loading times, rather than the content itself.
  • Subscription Frustrations: Issues related to subscription management (cancellation, ads for subscribers) are a recurring theme in negative reviews.

Conclusion

The New York Times app benefits from the strong reputation of its content, but its technical performance and subscription management processes are significant weaknesses. Addressing the app's stability, loading times, and subscription issues should be the top priority. Improving the audio player and search functionality would further enhance the user experience. Overall, focusing on technical improvements and user-friendly subscription management will solidify the app's position as a leading news source.

Recommendation: Prioritize technical improvements and subscription management enhancements to address the key user pain points.

Original App Link

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nytimes.android