Slowly improving, but maybe too slowly

2/28/16
This is an update to my 1 star rating if 2 months ago. I give the staff credit for trying to correct many of the glaring problems of the first iteration, but it is still not as useful as the old Chronicle app. It is now possible to limit to content to that from "todays paper"; however it is still not the digital version of the print edition that it used to be.

Apple customer service was very helpful and fully refunded my annual subscription fee when I explained that the product had been completely changed only weeks after I renewed. I now renew on a monthly basis in hopes that we will eventually get back to something like the former app.

The truncation of the obituaries has been corrected, but now there have been no new obits published since early February and most are from mid to late January! I update the app every time they issue a revision so Im not running an old version. Apparently death has taken a holiday.

12/28/15
For decades I started the day with a cup of tea and the Chronicle...then I switched to tea and the Chronicle app on my iPad. The new version of the app has ruined my mornings!

I started using the Chronicle app about 3 years ago and found it an easy way to get the daily papers content in a digital format. I eventually just dropped home delivery and used the app exclusively. On Dec 6 I renewed my subscription for a full year not knowing that a major revision of the app was planned. The new version is no longer worth the price of the subscription and I have enquired about the possibility of a prorated refund.

The many negative reviews here are correct... the content bears no resemblance to the content of the daily print edition...just a mishmash of scrolling stories which may be current or may in fact be months old! Todays Dec 28 "Front Page" section began with an article from yesterday, the second story was dated Nov 29, and the third was from Oct 30! The "Garden" section is running informative articles from last summer.

I spent several days playing around with the new navigational layout, but quickly realized that knowing how to use the app could not make up for the inherent design flaws.

I emailed the Editor-in-Chief to report a number of major bugs, including the fact that content in the "World" section had not updated in days and was still showing week old news at the top of the screen. Obituaries do not display full content even though people have paid to have that information published. Whole sections of the paper are completely missing. She did respond promptly and forwarded my concerns to the app support team, but clearly felt that the new version was an improved product. Since support for the previous app is ceasing as of Jan 15 I think any hope of going back to the old interface is wishful thinking.

What a shame...they "fixed" a good thing that wasnt broken.

SFBayAnne about San Francisco Chronicle