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A significant update for Chambers App users today which now includes a full text search feature. This means you can search for words contained in definitions, not just the header words. You can also add a second search term with conditions (e.g. A plus B; A but not B etc).

So a search on ANORAK returns the entry itself AND entries for CAGOUL and WINDCHEATER which contain anorak in their definitions.

GREENLAND + FUR returns ANORAK and MUSK.
GREENLAND - FUR returns ESKIMO and INUIT etc.

This has been possible before using other software but having it in the App is very handy.

(ANORAK is this weekend’s WPR word in case you were wondering).

Hi Jono,

I fear this is another case of the updates and extra features only being available on Apple and not Android.

If any Android users know different, please tell me.

Surely there must be members here who use the Chambers phone app on Android - have you had an update like Jono or was it like before when only Apple users benefitted?

The Android app is showing version 6.14, last updated 28 Nov 2025, and it doesn’t say anything about full text search, so it certainly doesn’t look to be there yet.

The developer is Anthony Lewis, of WordWeb Software. Why not email him at:

wordweb@wordweb.info

and ask him if it’s in the pipeline?

Thanks Quisling,

My app is showing exactly the same details in respect of version number and most recent update as yours is.

Regarding your suggestion of emailing Anthony Lewis, I actually did back in January 2021. Here is what I wrote:-

Hi, I have the Chambers dictionary app installed on my Android phone and it recently came to light, following a discussion on the Crossword Help Forum, that the 'same' app on IOS has a "dictionary appendices" section that contains lists of thematic items which, as you can imagine, are extremely helpful for solving crosswords like the Listener, IQ and EV. Is there a reason why it's available on IOS but not Android and will it be made available to Android users in the near future?

Kind regards,

Brendan

And here is his reply:-

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m not sure if there was a reason connected to availability of embedded PDF viewers on Android, but I haven’t looked at it very recently.

Antony

PS: I added the italics for purposes of clarity, although now I think of it, as they bot copy and pastes I'm curious to see if they will work 🤔

I just wanted to draw Android users of the Chambers app to the last line the email reply Antony (the developer) sent to me:-

"...but I haven’t looked at it very recently."

Really!? You had just supplied Apple IOS with not just a a massive update but also extra features. However, in your own wiords concerning Android, "[you] haven't looked at it recently".

The very defenition of a two-yier system - at least now we know where we stand and what WordWeb truly thinks of Android and its users.

That’ email was from 5 years ago - have you asked him about the full text search update?

No, I haven't and I won't. I'm
not going to engage with someone a second time who was so dismissive towards me the first.

ok

Brendan, I quite understand your position, but he may be unaware of the strength of feeling, and there's no benefit in cutting off your nose to spite your face. So, as I use both platforms, I have emailed him anyway, saying:

"Dear Anthony

Well done on including a full text search in the latest update to the iPhone app. It's a very welcome enhancement. Do you have plans to roll out similar functionality in the Android app?

Last time this issue reared its head might have been a few years ago, when the iPhone app included the glossary pages while the Android app didn't, which was a pity. I think you may have mentioned then something about the availability of embedded PDF viewers on Android, but I'm not a software developer so I don't know the exact constraint.

No doubt you are aware that the split between usage of iPhones and Android devices is pretty much 50/50 in the UK, so there is a sizeable army of Android users who feel disenfranchised by having an inferior version. Is there any chance you could possibly revisit it? I know it would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards"

I'll let you know if and how he responds