Reeder, the popular RSS reader app for iPhone, has been updated to version 3.0 and brings with it an updated user interface and some new options and features that make an already great RSS app even better than before.

The first thing you'll notice is that the app icon has completely changed. It's a lot more sharper, especially on a retina display, and stands out a lot more than before. After launching the app you'll notice the entire interface has also gotten a makeover. If you've used Reeder before you won't have to worry about learning your way around the app as the layout is pretty much the same.

Your main feed page will show all the subscription services you currently use. Tapping the "+" sign in the upper right hand corner will allow you to add another service. You can choose from adding a Google Reader account, a Readability account, and new to version 3.0 is Fever feeds. Just tap on any of the three services and type in your credentials. Reeder will automatically start bringing down your subscriptions and feeds.

After adding all your accounts you can tap into any one of them or view them altogether through the All Items option at the top. The main navigation and layout remains the same and you can navigate through favorites, unread, and all articles by using the tabs along the bottom. You can also choose what you want swiping an article title left and right will do. You can choose to star articles, mark them unread/read, or send them to a service of your choice.

Manage-google-reeder-feeds-in-app-with-Reeder-for-iPhone

The biggest feature of Reeder 3.0 for iPhone is the ability to now natively add and remove subscriptions from Google Reader. Once in your Google Reader list just tap the "+" sign in the upper right to add a feed. Tap in the URL to the feed you'd like to add, categorize it, and click done. It'll now sync just like your other feeds. If you want to unsubcribe to a feed through Google Reader just go into that feed's articles list, tap the logo in the upper right and tap unsubscribe.

Share-to-networks-and-settings-for-Reeder-for-iPhone

The Settings section hasn't changed much but adds a few new options for new services such as Fever. You can configure all your sharing services and social services quickly and easily through Settings as well. Tap into App Settings to further configure how you want Reeder to behave and treat articles such as how long you want to keep read items, whether or not you'd like Reeder to cache images, or how many days back you'd like it to sync. Nothing too much has changed here.

The good

Beautiful new interface that makes Reeder even cleaner than before
Native subscribing and unsubscribing via Google Reader is an awesome edition and one many have been waiting for
Updated app icon is even better than the current
Fever support is an addition many will appreciate
The overall responsiveness of the app seems more snappy

The bad

iPad version hasn't been updated yet, hopefully that will be next
Facebook integration has been pulled (this will be coming back in a later update)

The bottom line

The updated version of Reeder has made an already great app even better. Native Google Reader integration for subscribing and unsubscribing is not only a great addition but the developer managed to keep it clean, simple, and easy to figure out.

Reeder was already one of the best RSS reader apps for iPhone available in the App Store. The new version of Reeder may earn it the title of the best RSS app for iPhone. Hopefully the iPad version will get the same update in the near future.

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iMore senior editor from 2011 to 2015.

11 Comments

So one of your cons in this review is that an app that isn't this one has not been updated? It's worth mentioning in the review somewhere, but I don't see how the update status of a seperate app should count against it.
It uses google reader, but does not have Google+ sharing? That would be a nice feature for them to add...
I couldn't disagree with you more about the new icon. It's far too simple, it doesn't show any indication of the app's purpose, and moreover, it's ugly.
I also feel that the new UI is so bland and devoid of color (version 2.0 had at least different SHADES of brown, even if it was just brown) that it actually causes me discomfort to use it.
The new gestures are nice, and the new features are welcome, but the overall aesthetic redesign feels really unnecessary and not helpful or beneficial at all.
Frankly, I'd take 2.0 over 3.0 any day, and I'll miss it.
NewRack still runs circles around Reeder. Does NOT need Google reader for syncing, can social network share via multiple outlets (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), has catchy graphics. I highly recommend it.
MobileRSS Pro was the best out there, but then the dev stopped supporting it, so I bought reeder. Never liked it much, but there wasn't much to choose from. Now with this update it's starting to actually have some good functionality. The one feature I REALLY miss from MobileRSS Pro is offline caching of unread articles, that way when on a flight or something similar, I could catch up on some reading. Hope we can get that feature soon!
I hate that they have removed Mobiliser support. There are a LOT of sites which don't enable Readability access - so I end up having to open a full website page in the iPhone. Mobiliser used to strip out all the crap and I would take v2 over 3 every time. I won't be upgrading to 3 on the iPad until Mobiliser is back....
the worst thing is that there's no "back" button when you scroll downwards the publication. no I need to tap twice to get back to publication list...
There's a handy new gesture to handle this very task.
When you scroll down in an article, and the Back button scrolls off the top of the page, just swipe with one finger to the right. Voila! You're back at the article list.
You can also load the article from the original web page by swiping to the left with one finger, and by using pinch-zoom, you can enable Readability.
thank you!
Does Reeder have the option to cache feeds for offline reading? As a frequent traveller, I do a lot of my news housekeeping on planes etc. I use iReadG for that and I'm very happy with it, but I never see it mentioned in reviews, as opposed to Reeder. Is it because the dev is Asian?
Besides iReadG there is also Byline, that supports complete offline usage. Both apps are seldom mentioned in reviews. But both need also updates.
I think it is still strange that Reeder is so popular. If you compare it to Mr. Reader on the iPad, the functionality is ridiculously restricted. Reeder was nice when it came out, but other apps like Mr. Reader set the standard much higher in the last years. The update of Reeder for the iPhone version is not catching up with this.

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