— ReadKit
The longtime Mac fave is now on iOS
$4.99 From Webin, readkit.app
Made for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch Needs iOS 14.0 or later
When it comes to aggregating RSS news feeds with “read later” services like Instapaper, ReadKit has been our go–to desktop app for some time. With support for favorite services, smart playlists, and custom reading controls, there’s a lot to love.
There’s only one problem: Over the years, our reading habits have shifted away from the desktop and onto mobile devices like iPhone and iPad,
where ReadKit was unavailable — until now.
Available on iOS and iPadOS at last, we’re happy to report ReadKit is every bit as remarkable as on macOS. That’s particularly true on iPad, where the larger display mimics the Mac’s three– column layout with subscribed feeds on the left, reader view on the right, and a list of article previews in between.
ReadKit offers support for a total of 15 services, including popular sync providers Feedly,
Feedbin, and Feed Wrangler. There’s even support for several upstart services that are not yet available in the latest Mac version (2.7.4), such as Inoreader, Tiny Tiny RSS, and FreshRSS, which delivers free DIY software for those wanting to host feeds on their own web server.
ReadKit for iOS supports the option to import/export subscriptions via OPML, as well as built–in RSS. Although handy when the desktop was an island unto itself, feeds added locally don’t sync to other devices. We also had to manually set up services for each new device, since there’s no iCloud account sync.
On the desktop, individual subscriptions are configured to sync manually, on launch, or at designated intervals (every five, 10, 30, or 60 minutes). The mobile app takes a more streamlined approach, with On Start, Manual, and Background options. The latter works great — barely impacting battery life — while assuring you can launch the app and browse favorite feeds straightaway.
One downside of many RSS apps is that opening an article displays a truncated version of the text with the option to continue reading on the full website, complete with ads and other unwanted obtrusions. Although we understand the need for this practice (clicks and advertising are a necessary evil), the experience is less than ideal for the reader.
ReadKit for iOS combats this with a built–in reader mode (summoned by tapping the page icon at the bottom) which pulls in the complete text of a selected article in an easy–to– digest view. This works even with tricky sources like The New York Times, who otherwise provide a one–sentence description in their RSS feed.
Although ReadKit can share articles to other apps, the app curiously can’t do the opposite. Reeder, NetNewsWire, and GoodLinks all support saving web links via a share sheet, so we hope ReadKit will soon do the same. On iPad, we’d also love a way to see every service we’ve added in the left–hand column (like the Mac app does), rather than having to switch between them.
THE BOTTOM LINE. Our favorite news reader app finally comes to iOS.
JR BOOKWALTER
READKIT
RSS and read later in one app
Reader view extracts full content
Background sync option
Only view one service at a time
EXCELLENT