Reeder for iOS gets background refresh and interface tweaks

By Simon Sage
last updated

Popular news-reading client Reeder 2 got a healthy update for iPhone and iPad today. The most notable addition is background refresh, so the latest stories will always be there waiting for you without having to pull them in once the app launches. Reeder will also kick into gear when external apps refer to an RSS feed, which is a nice touch for those that are regularly adding new sites to their collection. A smattering of other tweaks are also in Reeder 2.2, like a loading progress indicator for the in-app browser. disabling favicons from showing on the subscriptions list, and a few navigational improvements.

As always, Reeder brings all of your favorite sites into one spot to catch up. RSS feeds can be added from all over, including their built-in search engine and catalog. Multiple accounts can be tied in, including Readability and Feedly, and articles can be shared out through a wide range of popular services like Pocket, Buffer, Facebook, and Twitter. Various themes keep legibility high, not to mention suit your personal style.

How do you catch the news on your iPhone or iPad? Are traditional RSS clients like Reeder the best way to catch up, or does something with a bit more flash, like Flipboard, suit your tastes?

Simon Sage
Simon Sage

Editor-at-very-large at Mobile Nations, gamer, giant.

5 Comments
  • I like using traditional RSS clients. Still no landscape support for Reeder 2 but it is my favorite RSS client. I usually use both Flipboard and Reeder 2. I find they both meet my needs.
  • Newsify is better if you are using Feedly
  • Newsify is good. I've also tested Ziner and Lire. I like how you can have auto Readability when viewing articles in Ziner. But Newsify is awesome as well.
  • RSS all the way. Uread on iPhone, it's a beauty. I'm about to try Reeder though since you say I can add feeds in app. When Unread lets me do that and setup custom sharing though, there's no way I can not use it! David Sparks wrote a great piece on delight versus efficiency, or along those lines, recently -- specifically about Unread vs Reeder, where unread was more delightful, but Reeder was faster to get through his feeds, and he chose Delight, ultimately. It's interesting. As for iPad, it's Mr. Reader for me, without question. An iPhone version should be in the works, if all goes well, so that's awesome. Mr Reader's use of custom sharing services makes it a no brainer for myself. I have an action to send nicely formatted markdown of selected text in an article to Day One, with the title, author, and source all neatly formatted and linked. I have one wit the same format to append to an RSS Log note in Evernote, per a MacStories article, and one to bookmark an article in Pinboard, via Pinswift, and then append the link to an Evernote note (wiyh the help of Drafts). I mean, naturally this type of thing doesn't appeal to every, or probably even most, user(s). But for me, my news reading needs are met, and then some with the utility. Unread, as of now, does have a diverse share menu. It looks like Reeder does too though. Like I said I'll give it a go. I might love it, we'll see. As for Flipboard and the like, I can see the appeal to many. The news is delivered in a beautiful format there. I keep it on my devices, though it use it less and less these days. I can certainly appreciate the preference for it so,et have though.
  • Not to ramble on there :)