Some Apple News+ subscribers are reportedly unhappy that they see so many ads — and are blocked from accessing certain publishers — despite paying a monthly fee for supposedly unlimited access to magazines and newspapers included in the service.
Many users say they already canceled their subscriptions, with some criticizing Apple for not paying publishers enough to remove ads.
New subscribers aren’t happy with Apple News+
Apple offered new News+ subscribers three months of free access (up from just one month) for Black Friday. And it seems some of those who took advantage of that deal are just discovering that the premium service isn’t that premium.
One Reddit user complained about seeing ads in Apple News+ and felt it was “a bit unfair given they’re charging $12.99/mo” in Canada. The thread proved popular among other unhappy Apple News+ users.
“If we’re paying why are we seeing ads?” another user wrote. “I canceled my subscription immediately upon seeing them, nothing boils my blood like ads.”
“Apple News is arguably their worst paid service, filled with ads, still doesn’t give you unlimited articles for certain papers,” wrote another. “I will not subscribe to it until it’s fixed. It’s just god awful in its current state.”
“Yeah I really don’t get the point of News+,” replied another. “Still see [Washington Post] articles I can’t access, etc. Why are those even in the app?”
But Apple doesn’t promise an ad-free experience
However, some users rightly defended Apple, pointing out that the company does not promise an ad-free News+ experience. The subscription fee only unlocks access to premium publications — it doesn’t remove ads from them.
Others also argue that the print versions of those publications, which also come at a cost, include advertisements throughout. Just like cable TV and other services, which show ads despite their pricey subscription fees.
However, a number of people feel that it doesn’t make sense to pay for Apple News+ when they can subscribe to the publications they want individually, then view them in a web browser with an ad-blocker for a much better experience.
“I sub to several news outlets that have ads that I can block in my browser but not in News+,” one user wrote. “That’s really what makes it useless to me, it doesn’t do anything better … and actually makes the experience worse.”
