Digital magazines were once touted as the future (and savior) of print media. Heralded by the iPad, Google’s solution took on many forms and moved from app-to-app. Currently in Google News, the company announced that its removing and “discontinuing print-replica magazines” support.
In an email to “all current Magazine Paid Subscribers” (via Android Police), Google announced that “you won’t be able to purchase new print-replica magazine issues or renew your subscription via Google News.”
These were essentially a page-per-page PDF copy of the physical edition that were okay to look at on tablets, but somewhat questionable on phone screens where thick borders were rampant. Constantly zooming was not enjoyable no matter how much you prefer traditional print layouts.
All your previous purchases will remain accessible through the Following tab, with Google “encourage you to search for that publication in Google News, or visit the publication’s website.” A list of your subscriptions is conveniently provided in the email.
Meanwhile, your last payments will be refunded over the next 30 business days:
The time it takes for the refund to appear depends on how you paid. If your refund is taking longer than expected, you can check the refund status in your Google Payments account.
Digital magazines took a long route from Google Currents to News & Weather and Play Newsstand. Google has finally settled on News in 2018 to be its information app for the foreseeable future, and removing old magazine subscriptions is a step towards modernization.
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