Top 5 RSS news feed readers for iPhone, iPad

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

TiPb checks out the best, most must-have RSS news feed reader apps to load up on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch

Have an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch and curious which are the best, most must-have RSS feed reading apps you need to check out? We've already covered readers in general, from eBooks to comics, but this time we really wanted to focus on RSS news. So if you want to keep your syndication really simple, and yourself up to date with the latest new, read on for TiPb's top 5 most recommended RSS feed readings apps for iOS.

NetNewsWire for iPhone, iPad

Top 5 RSS feed readers for iPhone, iPad - NetNewsWire

NetNewsWire is the granddaddy of iOS RSS readers and is still a favorite for many. It syncs with Google Reader, and while in version past that was a laborious process, improvements to both the app and iOS have made it much smoother these days. It's now been given a whole new codebase and has been picked up by a new team of dedicated developers so its quite possible grandaddy might just become the new, fresh kid on the block as well.

Rather than a universal binary for both iPhone and iPad, NetNewsWire has separate apps for both. There is, however, a free version for iPhone with ads that you can try before you buy. If you want a great way to organize and chew through your Google Reader-synced RSS feeds, give NetNewsWire a look.

The Early Edition for iPad

Top 5 RSS feed readers for iPhone, iPad - The Early Edition

The Early Edition was one of the first RSS readers available for iPad when it launched and it's still iPad-exclusive to this day. Beautifully rendered in a newspaper-style motif, it won't sync with Google Reader but will import your feeds to get you started. You can flip pages in the same way you can in iBooks, and there's a familiar Action button to share your favorites.

Just like iPad itself, The Early Edition isn't meant to be an on-the-go, breaking news reader. It's meant for when you want to relax. When you have your feet up and a glass of wine or a latte close at hand. It's for when you have time to just enjoy your feeds.

Reeder for iPhone, iPad

Top 5 RSS feed readers for iPhone, iPad - Reeder

Reeder manages to sync with Google Reader but without the slowdown many other apps seem to experience. Indeed, for a sync-enabled app, it's smoking fast. It presents everything in a clean, clear interface that doesn't seek to ground you in tradition or wow you with modern effects.

If you just want to power through news on the go, get in, get informed, and get back out, Reeder is a great way to do just that. It's not a universal binary, however, which means you'll have to buy it separately for iPhone and for iPad.

Flipboard for iPad

Top 5 RSS feed readers for iPhone, iPad - Flipboard

Flipboard is a fun, fancy way to not only keep up with your Google Reader RSS feeds, but also Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more. And that's both a blessing and a curse. If all you want is your news, just the facts and fast, then Flipboard may be eye-candy-coated social overkill. However, if you prefer your news filtered through your social networks, if you value sharing as much as gathering, the Flipboard can be a blast.

Because of all of the above, it feels better suited for quickly glancing through tons of content than for deep diving and focusing on news reading, but it's also free so you have nothing to lose by trying it. Except your time...

Pulse for iPad

Top 5 RSS feed readers for iPhone, iPad - Pulse

When Pulse debuted it seemed like the RSS feed reader someone in the Star Trek universe would use. Geometric, colorful, and elegant its a mosaic view of your news and a great way to browse all the laster stories. Pulse doesn't sync with Google Reader but rather lets you import your feeds so you start off with the sites you want, where you want them.

While Pulse isn't a universal binary for iPhone and iPad, it is free so there's no pain or price involved in trying it out on all your iOS devices.

Your top apps?

So there you have them, our top 5 best RSS feed reader apps to get you going. Be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and iPad App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites leave them in the comments below!

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

37 Comments
  • First off...if you're using RSS heavily(and everyone should be), Google Reader is the only wat to manage feeds. That eliminates a few of the above right away. I used to like Reeder...until I found Feeddler. Auto mark as read as I scroll and auto open original page are killer features. My second favorite is MobileRss. The rest you mention are just too much "fluff", IMHO.
  • I use Byline on both iphone and ipad as it is one of the few (the only one?) that can cache rss full articles with mobile view. Very handy if you're on the road and navigates MUCH faster even if you're on WLAN.
  • Yea I. Hope. I. Don't. Have. It.
  • Those are great for pad, but mobileRSS is the best for iPhone.
  • Am I missing something I've tried a few of the above mentioned as well as mobileRSS which was good but everytime I keep going back to NewsRack it syncs with google reader where I manage all my feeds its very fast and I can share from it too. I like that it's not fancy I don't actually use the newspaper look it's just a fast no frills RSS reader!
  • MobileRSS HD - best experience for Google Reader on the iPad. I tried some of the others s well, but really can't compete! I wish they would have a pictures page option (like Perfect RSS Reader), but that would be my only complaint.
  • I've been using FeeddlerPro (iPhone and iPad) for the longest time.. super great..
  • I totally agree, matter fact just posted on tis one myself.
  • Love FeeddlerPro on the iPad.
  • I would like to recommend THE best RSS Reader for iPad: Mr. Reader.
    For some reason it doesn't come up in RSS searches on the App Store, but trust me, you wanna check it out. It's mind blowingly awesome!
  • Yup. I'm using Mr Reader as I type. Reeder is a very close 2nd. Many others mentioned such as feedly and flip book are nice alternatives too
  • Feedly is amazing.
  • I agree ! For iPhone/iPad or on PC, Feedly's just amazing !
  • I think ,,simple rss+" is also a good choice. It can synchronize with google reader, and he is the only one, who has push notifications !
  • Feedly.
  • Zite is a good one too, Not sure if it falls under RSS reader but its very similar to Flipboard
  • I always use Taptu. It's the best rss reader I've used
  • Reeder is an amazing RSS Reader, so simple, yet so powerful ;)
    If you want to, check out a review post for Reeder on Mac and iPad on : http://www.applecasts.com/rss-reading-on-a-mac/
    Cheers!
  • Surprised there is no mention of Byline. Has a Universal app ($5.99) or a free version that is ad supported. It is very good.
  • Reeder is terrible. Nowhere does it explain what the icons do - it's trial and error.
    Byline is by far the best of the 'google' readers - its killer feature is its ability to cache all feeds offline - including those feeds that only contain a snippet from the article. And it's all done without any bells and whistles. Great!
  • Feedler Pro is equally amazing. It leverages Google Reader. You log into your Google account and it automatically configures itself to your Google RSS account feeds. Even updated the "read" feed counters on Google as well.
  • Another vote for Byline here. Love it on my iPhone, love,love,love it on my iPad. Great navigation and a "it just works" feel to it. I will admit that there are a few apps mentioned here that I haven't tried that I might, but in a way it would feel like I'm cheating on Byline!
  • I agree Byline is awesome!
  • MobileRSS HD, bought months ago, never could go back to another rss reader, best interface i've used on the iPad, very practical when handling many feeds.
    http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobilerss-hd-google-rss-news/id375300540?...
  • Reeder FTW
  • Reeder handles webcomic mouse-overs like the ones XKCD uses. Found it by accident. You pinch zoom the webcomic, right in the RSS feed, and it goes full screen. When you tap it, you get the mouse-over text.
    Do any other RSS readers have a way to view mouse-over text?
  • I really find NewFolio for the iPhone extremely useful as it has the unique ability to search across all your feeds and even create automated searches that are refreshed every sync. Nice clean interface and very fast as well
  • oops spelling mistake meant NewsFolio
    http://www.newsfolioapp.com/
  • i cant even take this article serious if you didnt include feedly it is best for iOS and desktop/laptop
  • FeeddlerRSS and MobileRSS are two fantastic RSS apps. Free editions too. Better than/equal to many paid apps
  • Mr. Reader should be in this list. It is better than Reeder in every aspect.
  • Not a single mention so far for River of News? Really? I haven't looked back since switching (via Netnewswire then Reeder), it's such a pleasure to use.
  • There is a new app on the App Store called Selectnews that I like as it lets you create keyword categories in the left pane and show the related stories in the right pane.www.onethingwell.biz
  • Flash is horrible on the Mac... And andriod has more bugs than an ant farm. I don't know what your thinking man.
  • Awesome issues here. I am very glad to peer your post. Thanks a lot and I am having a look ahead to contact you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?
  • This has definitely sparked up an thought in my thoughts. That is a amazing web site submit.
  • The best RSS Reader by far is newsrack, (http://www.omz-software.de/newsstand/) syncs everthing qith google reader with a excellent user interface