AppleInsider's iOS app updated with dismissible Plus trial option, remains free for all

After releasing our last app update, it quickly became apparent that a new dialog advocating a free trial of AppleInsider Plus — our feature-added, ads-free subscription plan — was causing some confusion. In this latest version, users can now easily decline the free trial on initial launch by clicking a dedicated "No Thanks" button in the popup.

To be clear, the AppleInsider app never has and never will automatically charge users without their express permission. Accepting our free trial offer does not and did not opt users in to recurring fees or any fee at all; that's not how AppleInsider operates. We strive to give you, our readers, the best possible experience across multiple, rapidly evolving platforms, which is why we created our custom iOS app. The free trial of AppleInsider Plus has always existed as a no strings attached 30-day free trial of our feature-added, uninterrupted news reading experience. Readers who accept the trial are not automatically enrolled in any form of subscription plan. When the 30 day trial ends, readers must choose to manually subscribe to Plus, and even then the subscription will not auto renew.

For instance, if a reader subscribes to 3 months of AppleInsider Plus, the reader would need to manually resubscribe at the end of the 3 months. It will not auto renew. Still, we understand that some readers were turned off by a regrettable oversight on our part in not providing a way to forgo a free trial of Plus before accessing the app's content. This has since been corrected with the aforementioned "No Thanks" option.

For those readers who don't mind giving Plus a try, the app will continue to offer the free 30-day evaluation as an option. With a Plus subscription, readers are offered ad-free access to AppleInsider content as well as additional features, such as the ability to bookmark favorite articles across their devices (make sure you're logged into the same iCloud account on all devices) and set up customized push notifications.

Meanwhile, non-subscribers can continue to enjoy all of AppleInsider's breaking Apple news coverage, intriguing features and poignant opinion pieces completely free within the app. Of course the same content remains available to readers via our traditional websites, accessible through your favorite desktop and mobile device.

Readers can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, our Newsletter and via RSS.

This marks the third update since the debut of AppleInsider's all-new mobile app, which was designed by our good friends at the digital design shop Crafted. Previous updates brought article timestamps to the main screen alongside improvements in image loading time. Readers also gained control over the size and weight of the font used to display articles, while the default was made darker thanks to users' suggestions.

AppleInsider version 2.0.2 is available now as a free, 19.3-megabyte download from the App Store.