Official: You Can Now Get Early Access to the Next Version of Logos

With the new subscription ONLY based model proposed for Logos11 onwards, I hope just as we have the option to buy Logos Legacy Libraries when new versions of Logos replace past ones, I hope Faithlife will also offer us the option to buy Legacy Feature Sets of older releases of Logos which may not include the expensive AI stuffs that makes Logos want to go on a sole subscription based approach. In a third world country I certainly cannot afford a Logos subscription but I can save up some money and buy Legacy Logos Features Sets if they are offered for purchase.

No offense Nathan, but how do you intend to implement AI with the other software company you work for? There are ongoing costs that need to be addressed that really only work with a subscription. Don't get me wrong, you have every right to post as a Logos customer, but on the other software forums you are discussing AI implementation including natural language searching and summarization. If that software company is serious about implementing AI I would think they would have worked out the economics of it and without a subscription, as I understand the cost model, it doesn't work.

No one has to subscribe and nothing is set in stone about some of the conclusions you are arriving at regarding future development of Logos. I get that subscriptions are not for everyone, and hope Logos accommodates those customers, but AI at this time will require a subscription or prepayment due to ongoing costs.

No offense taken.

I won't comment on other Bible software apps here, as this would not be the proper place for me to do so.

My posts here are speaking 100% as a Logos user who owns 14,500+ books in Logos and has spent $23,300+ (almost $23,400) in recordable sales with Logos. That's not counting Libronix, eBible, LLS 2.x, and Wordsearch titles that are now in Logos. The costs would be even higher.

I want Logos to do well, as I have a substantial personal investment as a Logos user.

I'm also not against subscriptions in general.

I used Logos Now when it started as monthly, moved to annual with it, and even endured the price increase. I've also been through the transition to Faithlife Connect, and I stuck on with Faithlife Connect (No Resources) until my dad passed away, and at the time, I needed to reduce subscriptions. I saved up the money, bought a Logos Full Feature Set, and moved back to perpetual purchases of the Logos features.

I also had Wordsearch's Perks membership that transitioned to Logos. I also gave it up during the services reduction even though I got that money back in the form of store credit, simply because at the time, I needed to reduce expenses.

I even dabbled with Logos Cloud at a time and rented a Logos Cloud tier for a few months since at the time, it was cheaper to rent some of those books than to direct-purchase them on Logos, even with a payment plan. I let it expire when I didn't need it anymore.

I currently subscribe to Scribd (now Everand) annually, and so far, I've kept it because it has saved me more than $10/month in book purchases. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing a Christian-based company offer a similar service at a similar price, and I may even move from Scribd to it.

I don't expect the AI features in Logos to be free, and it may not be feasible for Logos to offer the AI and "cloud backed" features as perpetual purchases. I understand the need for a subscription for these.

If Logos wants to offer a subscription option for AI, I'm perfectly fine with Logos doing it. I can decide if the AI subscription provides enough value to me to subscribe or not. If it is, great. If it's not, then I don't have to subscribe to it, but it's still available for those who want it.

If Logos wants to offer subscription versions of Logos similar to Logos Now, Faithlife Connect, Logos Cloud, Scribd/Everand, etc., as options for users who want early-access to Logos features or for Logos users who want to access Logos libraries at a low-commitment, I'm perfectly fine with it as well. Now that I'm back on the perpetual train, I don't see myself getting back on the subscription train, but others may want to be on it.

Here have been my primary concerns about this announcement:

• The product page I went to, as well as the initial announcement, has given the impression that all future feature versions of Logos are going subscription-only. I do have an issue with this. I want the option to direct-purchase at least some new features of Logos. Some that are clearly "cloud backed" or AI that need a subscription to maintain I can see putting behind a subscription. If I am not interested in those features, I don't have to subscribe, but I would want the option to purchase non-AI and non-"cloud backed" features.
• With the dissolution of the Mobile Ed team and the departure of some from the Content Innovation team, I'm having a hard time understanding (with the exception of AI) where the "innovations" are going to come from in a Logos subscription. While I may not have still re-signed up for a Logos subscription, if Logos was producing regular Mobile Ed content that could improve our biblical training, as well as all of the other "innovative" datasets that came out of the Content Innovation team, these are useful regular content additions that make a stronger case for a subscription offering. With these being scaled back, with the exception of AI, there's less of a convincing case for a Logos subscription.
• Taking a look at the current "Logos Pro" subscription, I'm not entirely convinced on it at the moment in its current state as a replacement for a Logos Feature Set or Base Package. I own most of the books in it, and even then, some aren't books I use heavily. While the AI stuff is interesting, I'm not seeing any major features that would be worth this serving as a replacement for a Logos Feature Set. If this is also the "Pro" tier, I'm expecting smaller tiers to offer less. Plus I'm also concerned about potential price increases closer to the launch of "Logos 11". The AI stuff in "Logos Pro" makes for a decent standalone subscription as an option. The rest I'd have a hard time recommending to new or existing users of Logos.
• As others have announced, I am also concerned about Internet/server connectivity as well. I know some features in Logos already require an Internet connection, and generally I'm in an area with decent Internet, but for customers in areas with spotty/unreliable Internet, we need a way to study the Bible that "just works" that's not dependent on a subscription, Internet, or server connection after we've installed everything. Bible study is mission-critical work, and the potential for something to go out when someone needs it the most is concerning. If accessing AI didn't work during a major outage, that's OK. If having issues accessing critical books and searching tools went out during a major outage, that's a major concern.

Hope this helps. Thanks for listening.

I'm not opposed to subscription if the value is there, but locking instant dark/light mode behind a subscription is off-putting considering this was feedback given as soon as Logos 10 launched and we were told it was being worked on and should take about 6 months to implement.  18 months later and now we're told it will be a feature only available if you have a subscription.  Dark mode was a big reason for my decision to upgrade and it just leaves a bad taste that such a basic quality of life feature is being gated behind a subscription.  Again, I'm not opposed to subscription for most of the things listed, but this particular feature is irksome as a lay user.

Using the same bucket for AI and translation credits doesn't seem to make sense... Translation is a feature that was paid once with the L10 feature sets, and AI tools are a monthly subscription.

If a user consumes all credits with a large amount of translations, he'd essentially lose the AI subscription for that month. He makes the payment for nothing, as he doesn't receive anything in return. The credits have been used for a feature that he owns anyway.

Good point. Also, initially the credits were for translation only - now that they're AI credits, was the amount increased, or do we have to run increased functions on the same number of credits? Maybe this was addressed already and I missed it.

t may just be me, but I would be content if Logos never adds another Feature. I use it now for mostly purchasing books and study

It's not just you! I'm right with you concerning that!

As a Logos expert user with a large library and an early adopter as well, I am always interested in trying out new tools. Logos and AI makes me excited about its potential. 

Looking at what AI features Logos currently offers and its $9.99/m subscription, here's my takeaway: 

• I'm not (yet) impressed by smart searching. 
• I searched my books with the prompt: "Which commentaries hold the view that Jude did not change his mind when he wrote his letter?" 
• 1st hit is a book review that doesn't say much about the question, and if it does it holds the opposite view.
• 2nd and 3rd hit are a commentary that holds the opposite view
• 4th hit is another book review that doesn't say anything at all about the question.
• 5th hit is an entry on 'Jerome's commentaries' in a dictionary that doesn't even talk about Jude, let alone my question about Jude.
• I searched my books with the prompt: "How are the Greek verbs ἀγαπάω and φιλέω different from each other in meaning?"
• 1st hit is a grammar that provides a list of Liquid Verbs that indeed does include φιλέω, but without any comment on its meaning and the first occurrence of the verb ἀγαπάω in the book is 73 pages separated from the page that contains φιλέω. 
• 2nd hit is a different grammar that a list of copulative (!) verbs where neither φιλέω nor ἀγαπάω are mentioned, of course. 
• 3rd hit is even more curious as it gives me the TDNT to the entry of κηρύσσω, zooming in on the Secular Meaning of κηρύσσω in Lk. 12:3. No mentioning of either verb from my prompt. 
• 4th hit gives me some good translation exercises, but in none of the sentences I found the verbs I was looking for, and of course it didn't say anything about meaning.
• The Summary of search result is cool
• In both my searches from above they accurately didn't provide any information related to my prompt, so it could have saved me time by not looking at the context of the snippets myself (which I did for the sake of this feedback!) 
• Summary feature in the side bar of a resource panel 
• I let Logos give me a summary of the section 'Chronological Context' in NIVAC on Joel, p. 24-27: 
• it gave a misleading representation by writing 'it is likely placed in early in Israelite prophecy' which is a rephrasing of '(...) has led some to place it early in the history of Israelite prophecy', while the author - if pressed - leans more to a date around 500 BC. 
• it gave a correct conclusion that - according to the author - the book should be interpreted within its intrinsic literary context given the difficulty of dating the book.
• I let Logos summarize the chapter on 'Why Circumcision' from Heiser's I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible:
• in general it gave a decent summary of the text
• it did accurately inform me that the chapter 'explores the historical and cultural context of circumcision'
• it failed to include an important conclusion for Heiser, that 'the evidence suggests that circumcision did not distinguish Israelite men from their foreign neighbors.'
• Logos summarized a section on Paul's Petitions in Ch. 3 of Carson's Call to Spiritual Reformation: 
• it did a nice attempt to summarize 6 pages in a small summary
• I'm impressed by the summary of chapter 3. I am wondering if the AI summary of the chapter on my computer will be the same as the AI summary of the same chapter for a different Logos user.
• Unfortunately, it seems Logos will only summarize the smallest textual unit that has its own heading (e.g. paragraphs or sections or chapters). It does not give an option for the user to get a summary or the main points of a whole book. CORRECTION: it does seem to allow the user to select a summary of a section and a chapter. I haven't found the option to get a summary of a whole book. The options which section to summarize seem to appear a bit randomly and should be given more prominence. 
• Sermon Assistant Tools
• I haven't tested them much as I don't see myself using them a lot, since I am not a preacher or a pastor
• I did try a different user case of the Questions tool: I copied the chapter on Why Circumcision? from Heiser's I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible, as I can imagine that as a teacher that would be a helpful tool. 
• I was disappointed to see only general questions that could have been applied to any text or sermon, such as: 
• What was the main topic of the sermon? 
• What Bible verses were referenced in the sermon? 
• How did the sermon apply to our everyday lives? 
• HOWEVER, when I - unintentionally - regenerated the questions, I was blown away by the content related questions such as: 
• According to the sermon, why do you think the speaker says that circumcision sounds absurd? (Btw, I like it that Logos adds the words "According to the sermon" !!
• What was the significance of circumcision as the sign of God's covenant with Abraham?
• What evidence does the sermon present to suggest that circumcision did not distinguish Israelite men from their foreign neighbors?
• I LOVE the distinction between adult / teen / children's questions, as the latter are indeed much easier than the other ones. 

Recommendations: 

• the Smart Search needs significant improvement, as I found it pretty much useless for my research purposes as of yet. 
• Summary feature in the side bar of a resource: 
• make the options of summarizing a section of a chapter more prominent
• allow for summarizing a whole book 
• allow for the user to generate a summary of the main points / arguments of a book or chapter, presented in bullet points followed by a brief description 
• Sermon Tools: I have before pleaded for more tools and features for researchers and teachers. I am happy for preachers and pastors to have two more features added to their tool box, but I'd love to see more tools developed for teachers and researchers. Some of the new tools can be tweaked for other purposes, e.g. 
• simply add the Questions feature to the sidebar of a resource panel. A very practical use case would be for book discussion groups to generate discussion questions about the book / chapter that a group is reading. 
• Not related to the added AI features, but just the addition of another one: I don't think at this point, the new AI features would entice me to pay another $120 a year (especially since I also already own most if not all of the included resources). HOWEVER, if Logos could add an AI-driven text-to-speech feature for our resources, that would be a game-changer for me and I'd be happy to subscribe. This AI text-to-speech tool should meet the following expectations: 
• a much more natural voice than the currently available computer voices
• a much better overall pronunciation of words in general (my computer voice pronounces 'rivers' as *raivers*!) and of biblical and theological names and terminology in particular  
• ideally, a capability to read Greek and Hebrew

Thumbs up, Logos, for trying to integrate AI in the software, but for me the roll-out of the AI functions is a bit too early! Looking forward to see further developments. 

I need to be answered this question. Does it mean the subscription cost of $9.99 covers all the features as Logos connect or it is another story?

It is a separate subscription and does not cover any of the features in Logos' other subscriptions.

I have a Logos Connect subscription that ends in June. I also have a monthly subscription to Logos Pro. I am not sure if Logos Connect will continue parallel to Logos Pro. If Logos Connect continues to exist, I don't want to purchase the full features. I can combine Logos Pro and Logos Connect. But if the Logos Connect subscription is not going to continue, then I will have to purchase the Full Features. Otherwise, if I continue my Logos connect subscription in June and perhaps in October Logos connect is not continued, then I may have a problem. What is the solution. ? My decision is that I want to use all the features in some way, but I don't want to make unnecessary payment.

I'm having a hard time understanding (with the exception of AI) where the "innovations" are going to come from in a Logos subscription

I'm hoping it will come from the finishing of some current features - and adding some

• Logos does a poor job of supporting multi-word lexical units. Adding n-grams to the Concordance would be a major step forward here.
• The Bible Sense Lexicon needs to add additional relationships and move to a graph/net display from the current hierarchical one.
• The search needs to recognize alternative spellings especially where American and British spellings differ.
• The clause visualizations need to be redone in a more readable manner - including having two diagrams face each other for translation purposes.
• A basic automatic sentence diagram for tree diagrams or an automatic building of the diagram from coding needs to be implemented in support of the above.
• Basic argument mapping and structural units need to be implemented.
• Chord diagrams mapping the Bible to liturgical use would be very useful.
• A complete revision of the liturgical calendar that recognized there are 3-4 basic calendars to which all major calendars map. This would including recognizing different names for the same date.
• N-grams of the use of liturgical terms over time so we can track a concept through time regardless of the terms used
• A network of a work's references so that influences of major works can be traced
• An easier way to create some standard diagrams from Bible text - text flow, arcing, argument map, outline, propositional outline ...
• I personally would still like to see graphic organizers (think Jensen) as workflows fill a slightly difference function.

Great points.

I've had a couple of Chick Fil A sandwiches today, so I'm in a happier mood this evening.

In order to be completely fair and objective, as soon as someone can confirm that the 30 Day Free Trial is working flawlessly, I may at least take the 30 Day Free Trial. I can mark it to not renew so I'm not charged.

I'm still not convinced that I would use these tools enough to subscribe, and I still really hope we're given the option to still buy non-AI, non-"cloud backed" feature upgrades as perpetual licenses, but I'm at least willing to take the free trial and report back here on what I think of the new features.

Even though I hate all kinds of subscription, I think it’s great that you offer one for those that like subscriptions. I understand that it lowers the entrance barrier into logos. And that will help more people use Logos which is good for everyone involved. But as soon as subscription becomes the only option you’ll lose tons of customers and will make enemies with some of your greatest customers. I speak as one who has a huge library and has invested easily 20.000 USD into Logos. As much as I love Logos, I equally hate subscriptions. Please always keep giving us both options. Buying packages for a one time price and offering subscriptions. I understand that AI features have a higher monthly cost. Then please separate these ongoing cost features from the rest of the package. I love my Logos as it is and while I’d like to harness the power of AI in Logos I’m not ready to pay monthly for it. Please don’t make the same mistake Adobe did. When they changed to only subscription  they lost so many customers. They have the best software but that didn’t help them. Too many today have a subscription fatigue. Please don’t force subscription on us. 

Apologies. We thought we'd fixed this problem. We'll try again, although that won't be until Monday.

You can safely click on one of the buttons, and you'll be taken to a confirmation screen that will confirm exactly when you'll be charged. If you feel that's too soon, you can back out, and perhaps wait until we get a fix in place.

Thanks so much, Mark.  You are working too late though.  Please go enjoy your weekend.  :-)

Ok, Here’s a question from the subscription page and its answer:

Will I be forced to subscribe to Logos in the future? What about all the books I’ve already bought?

We are 100% committed to ensuring you can always access all of the books you’ve purchased. No one will be forced to subscribe to Logos to retain access to their existing content.

I own L10 Full Feature set, but this answer seems to suggest that you’re only 100% committed to ensuring we can always access all of our books, but nothing is said of the features.  At least, it’s not clearly stated when it should be because we’ve paid big bucks to own those features.  How is that going to work out for future releases?

DAL