Since Mac|Life has ceased publishing the print version, I’m looking to see if the are any other Mac oriented magazines that still actually produce a real print copy. I abhor digital magazines as they are never as good/handy as the print versions. BTDTNT.
MacFormat – published in the UK. I read it via Readly (which I understand you’re not interested in) but I’m fairly certain they offer print subscriptions.
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Thanks, Gordon. I sent them an email asking if they had any plans to go digital only, and if I did subscribe to the printed issues they would honor the contract for the entire term of my subscription. Mac|Life didn’t but fortunately my subscription only had 2 issues to go so they only ripped me off for a couple of bucks.
There’s a print iPhone Magazine, if you are interested:
https://iphonelife.dragonforms.com/loading.do?omedasite=ipl_subscribe
I used to subscribe to that but lately, the content was not as robust compared to the past with fewer pages.
Thanks, but I prefer something that covers Macs rather than just iDevices.
I still have a year on mine but haven’t heard from them yet. It is disappointing as I prefer a print magazine as well.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that many library systems have free access to magazines as long as you have a card. While I don’t like digital access, I may have to go that route but at least it will be free compared to a print subscription. My system has MacLife and MacWorld through Flipster and MacFormat and many other tech magazines through PressReader. So it is an alternative if you have access to that library’s offerings.
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It’s interesting that MacFormat is published by Future UK which also publishes Mac Life. I guess they don’t want to deal with two Mac publications.
Ah, those are only digital which if I wanted, I’d continue to subscribe. As I said above I ABHOR digital magazines.
Which is why I sent them an email asking their plans.
As I said, I’m not a fan of digital but accessing information is more important than not having it and if it’s free access, then that’s even better!
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This is the first I’ve heard this news, then opened my April 2023 issues of MacLife. It’s terrible news for me.
I agree with @romad, I cannot stand reading magazines in digital form. There are fewer and fewer print magazines, and my magazine reading has dropped significantly.
I’ve been a subscriber since Mac Addict #1. This is so disappointing.
I looked at MacFormat but haven’t decided yet. One negative is that it is from the same publisher as Mac|Life so they could go digital only at the drop of a hat, another is each issue is around $9 - $10 depending on the subscription term. However, they do offer a quarterly subscription for $30.50 so if they DO stop the print edition you won’t be out that much as opposed to an annual term. In this respect, I’m lucky as I only had 2 issues remaining on my Mac|Life subscription so they aren’t ripping me off that much (of course there is the matter of two back issues I ordered and paid for which they NEVER delivered). In addition, when I told them to cancel my subscription IMMEDIATELY, they refused and said I HAD to wait for my subscription to expire! I don’t think I can trust them regarding a MacFormat subscription since they haven’t been honest regarding my Mac|Life dealings.
That said, I don’t blame the editorial and writing staff for the problems as it is the fault of their corporate owners.
Now you might just flame me, but have you thought of printing it out double sided? If printing it seems expensive, that’s why they are stopping printing it too.
The price for the digital subscription is the same or higher than for the print subscription so by not printing the magazine they increase their profits immensely. Remember this is the same company that sat on my last renewal for 3 months causing me to miss 2 issues. Then when I paid extra for those back issues, they took the payment but never delivered them. So screw Future, PLC; those crooks aren’t getting any more of my money.
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I agree with you regarding the trust issue. Future is a large publisher and it seems that more titles are part of their stable. Recently, Kiplinger’s was either purchased or being published by Future. I hope that doesn’t go the digital route too.
As I mentioned earlier, if you have a library card which offers magazine titles, then maybe printing it if you can would be an alternative but it’s never going to look quite like the real magazine. For articles to keep, that could be realistic.
I remember fondly waiting for my issues of MacUser, Mac World, MacWeekly and a host of other Mac-related magazines to arrive in my mailbox. The digital magazine experience just doesn’t cut it for me, either.
Part of the problem is that the “Publish now or die” mentality that companies now are forced to implement to survive means SIGNIFICANTLY lower-quality writing/journalism. Reviews are little more than re-hashing a company press release instead of a thorough, hands-on for weeks review.
Younger people today simply don’t know what they missed. Oh well, get off my lawn you kids!
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Yeah, I’ve noticed this too. A recent example was the fall release of the Affinity 2.0 suite. With the exception of Tidbits, none of the major Apple-oriented sites mentioned it or, if they did, just a blurb based on a news release. Most of the sites and podcasts are now just rumors. Yuck.
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I remember sneaking the InfoWorld (?) newsletter out of the IT mailbox, reading it through quickly, and stashing it back in the box when I was at University. It was the beginning of the personal computer days and there was always exciting news.