So I’ve been using Reader from Readwise for quite some time and it’s been super great. But it’s very clear their priority is the web version, and they treat the iOS and iPadOS versions as nice-to-have. And credit to them (I’m on their Testflight), those versions of the app are solid, with only slight bugs from time to time. But…
Their iPadOS version does not support trackpad gestures (think, two finger slide to manipulate an entry to mark read, move it to inbox, etc.). I ping them every now and then, and they have always been super gracious in responding. This last time they said supporting trackpad gestures is not on their immediate roadmap as it is an “edge case that is hard to justify putting dev resources on right now”. I completely respect their position on it, but I’m not sure I want to keep paying $100+/year if they are so focused on other things that getting proper trackpad support is an edge case.
So I went on the hunt for another service (using Perplexity AI to cut through the internet chaff, I asked for a well-rated, simple, cross-platform RSS reader) and landed on an oldie, but a goodie (I think?) — NetNewsWire. So my new workflow is NetNewsWire for collecting up my RSS feeds, and sending the read-later stuff to (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) Safari Reading List.
I thought I wanted offline caching (which reading list claims to do, but doesn’t really do well in my experience), but then I realized I rarely want to read things but have no service. And if that’s the case, I almost always have other things downloaded to my phone I can read.
When moving away from Reader, I decided I wanted to try to something lightweight and free. I don’t archive articles from the web very often, but when I do I’m going to move toward saving off a PDF and either filing it away or putting it in Notes (haven’t decided yet).
Anyway, just sharing a little of my read-later journey!
Paying 100 bucks a year is precisely for coverage on those “Edge cases” or people will cobble together their own solution as you’ve done. I’m not vociferously against subscriptions but my observation is developers don’t work any harder on sub app than “pay once”.
Yah that’s a good way to think about it — I hadn’t really put it that way in my head. It’s ok if they do their thing and it’s ok if I don’t pay them $100/year.
As a Reading List alternative, you could also use the article star feature in NNW, which is a simple, fast single tap. Then just periodically review the starred articles.
I am glad to hear that Reading List is working for you – I fear it would be too minimal for my needs. I am personally very happy with Readwise Reader, but I have been experimenting with Omnivore recently and have a very positive impression of it as a free Reader alternative. Might be worth trying.
For me, it’s that they don’t seem to really care about/prioritize their iPad experience (and by extension their iPhone one, too). They make a minimum product because they are so focused on their web product and streamlining/improving the backend. It’s not that I’m mad they are doing that, it’s just weird they have chosen to not adjust their sight picture at all.
It’s not a resounding cry, but if you hop into their Discord, there are plenty of iPad requests (as it should be a logical and great device to accomplish what they want), but they choose to not resource it with their time or energy.
It truly is a bummer, but kind of like other iPad related things, it’s time to accept they don’t care about it. So I need to find something different.
I’m going to have to check out NetNewsWire. I have been a long-time user of Reeder, but with the focus on the new “Reeder,” which has the same name but is totally different, I think I will need to find a new RSS reader.
So far I like it, especially for the price. I know they don’t charge (in fact, they provide no way to even give a tip) and it’s part of the vibe. I describe it as a bare-bones RSS collector/reader. But you know what? I am finding I don’t really use many of the advanced features offered in these other apps. Not to mention, simple/free iCloud syncing.
