People Are Calling This App A “Netflix For Magazines”

Few things compare to the feeling of a magazine between your hands. The medium allows a reader to seamlessly relish in the distinct grey area between education and relaxation, while consuming a mix of reporting and long form features. There are publications for any and all of your interests, no matter how niche. Alas, in the digital age, conversations have arisen questioning whether magazines will soon be a thing of the past; but there is at least one app making strides to prevent that from happening.

An app for magazines called Texture was acquired by Apple this week, and it's a game changer for the 'zine industry. According to its description on the app store, Texture is "the only app that gives you unlimited access to over 200 top magazines."

The platform allows users to read digital versions of their favorite subscriptions on their smartphones, and further enables readers to download complete issues of magazines and save certain articles within the aesthetically-pleasing app. Though, it should be noted, beauty alone did not sell the program to the world's largest tech company. Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, says the decision was influenced heavily by the company's desire to increase its users' access to quality journalism. "We wanted to bring trusted sources to users in a beautiful layout," Cue told Axios. "We wanted to bring them trusted sources so we don't have to worry about a lot of the problems in the marketplace." With a range of notable titles including The New Yorker, ESPN, Vanity Fair, AllRecipes, and Esquire, to name a few, everyone is sure to find something that piques their interest.

If (and how) Apple plans to incorporate its own news platform into Texture remains to be seen.

The subscription-based format of the app is similar to that of many popular services currently revitalizing old entertainment and media industries such as Netflix, Hulu, and relative newcomer Moviepass. Though downloading the Texture app is free, there is a monthly recurring price tag of $10 to take advantage of any of its 200+ titles. Comparatively, $10 is less expensive than what many mainstream titles charge for a year's subscription.

So how does it work?

On the surface it bears a resemblance to many of the reading apps already available through outlets like Amazon and Apple, but the unique capabilities of Texture become clear rather quickly. The pristine images may make reading (and viewing advertisements that appear as they would on a material page) a breeze, but its user-friendly features set Texture apart from its competitors.

After opening the app, the user is presented with the collection of magazines currently available through the platform. By tapping on the image of one's cover, you add it to your "Favorites" tab. Once a title is part of this category, it is available for access in the user's personal collection. Texture will also alert a user when a new issue of a favorite title becomes available. When the user pulls up an issue of their choosing, they can flip through pages by scrolling up and down and swiping left and right (all that practice with Tinder may just optimize your reading experience). There's also an index tab with options to save or share the page further.

If you have any experience trying to read a page of text that has been scanned onto a monitor, you know just how difficult it can be to actually decipher the mangled image. With Texture, that's no longer an issue. Everything has been optimized for the app, so all the images are high quality and crystal clear. It also gives you an option to mark your page, so you can return to your reading at any time.

Those interested in trying Texture out can sign up for a one-week free trial on its website. Happy reading!