Unread 4.6 is available now from the App Store. This update adds improvements to support Apple’s new operating system releases.

Layout Changes on iPhone and iPad

In most themes, the status bar and the bottom bar now have the same color as the background color of the article list or the article screen. On both iPhone and iPad, the title or syncing status is now horizontally centered and shown above the home indicator. On iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, the title or syncing status is now vertically centered in the bottom bar. This looks better because the home indicator is usually hidden on iOS 26 and iPadOS 26.

When searching for an article or for a feed subscription, the search field now appears at the bottom of the screen or just above the software keyboard.

This update does not add liquid glass to Unread on iPhone or iPad. I anticipate incorporating liquid glass in future versions of Unread for iPhone and iPad, but I need to take more time and do so carefully.

Menu Bar on iPadOS 26

Unread 4.6 integrates with the menu bar on iPad when running iPadOS 26. This provides easy access to most actions, and makes it easier to look up keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard Shortcuts on iPhone and iPad

Since keyboard shortcuts now work with the system menu bar, adopting support for the iPad menu bar warranted revisiting some keyboard shortcuts. This update contains these keyboard shortcut changes on iPhone and iPad:

• Command-M (⌘M) no longer toggles the read/unread status of the current article. This is now reserved by iPadOS to minimize the window. Shift-Command-U (⇧⌘U) or an unmodified M key will toggle the read/unread status of the current article.
• Command-N (⌘N) creates a new feed subscription. Option-Command-N (⌥⌘N) creates a new window.
• Command-I (⌘I) is no longer an alternative keyboard shortcut for the Messages article action on iPhone and iPad. Since article action keyboard shortcuts can be customized, you can still set it as your Messages keyboard shortcut.
• There are some changes around keyboard shortcuts that copy links for pasting elsewhere. Command-C (⌘C) will always copy the URL of the currently selected article in an article list or the URL of the currently selected feed in a feed subscription list. Shift-Command-C (⇧⌘C) will always copy the URL of the currently open article or the currently selected article in an article list.

When performing an operation via keyboard shortcut that requires a prompt or confirmation before continuing, that prompt will now be presented as an alert instead of as a menu. Invoking such an operation via a swipe left menu or a context menu will still result in a menu-based prompt.

These changes do not affect Unread for Mac. In some cases they will make Unread’s keyboard shortcuts more consistent across platforms.

Liquid Glass on Mac

Unread adds liquid glass to standard controls on Mac when run on Tahoe (macOS 26). Liquid glass appears in toolbars, in sheets, in the Settings window, and in other standard controls throughout the interface.

Dark, Clear, and Tinted Icon on Mac

Unread’s standard icon now has a dark mode variant and a clear variant on Tahoe. It can also be tinted on Tahoe.

Additional Improvements

• On Mac, the Add Subscription toolbar item is now in the toolbar by default.
• On Mac, you can now search for an article quickly by typing Command-F (⌘F) or choosing Find from the Edit menu.
• Mark All Read Below operations are now much faster on iPhone and iPad under some circumstances.
• This update incorporates changes that make articles from semianalysis.com look better. These changes will apply to new articles downloaded after installing this update.
• This update adds some bug fixes around syncing accounts.

The update is available now from the App Store. If you enjoy using Unread, please consider subscribing to its premium features.

I spent the past couple of months getting Unread ready for Apple OSes 26. I plan to release updates to Unread shortly after Apple releases the operating system updates.

Keyboard Shortcut Changes on iPhone and iPad

The next feature update to Unread will embrace the new menu bar on iPad. Most keyboard shortcuts and some other commands will be available from the menu bar.

Since keyboard shortcuts will now work with the system menu bar, adopting support for the iPad menu bar warranted revisiting some keyboard shortcuts. I am making these keyboard shortcut changes in the next version of Unread for iPhone and iPad:

• Command-M (⌘M) will no longer toggle the read/unread status of the current article. This is now reserved by iPadOS to minimize the window. Shift-Command-U (⇧⌘U) or an unmodified M key will toggle the read/unread status of the current article.
• Command-N (⌘N) will create a new feed subscription. Option-Command-N (⌥⌘N) will create a new window.
• Command-I (⌘I) will no longer be an alternative keyboard shortcut for the Messages article action on iPhone and iPad. Since article action keyboard shortcuts can be customized, you can still set it as your Messages keyboard shortcut.
• There will be some changes around keyboard shortcuts that copy links for pasting elsewhere. Command-C (⌘C) will always copy the URL of the currently selected article in an article list or the URL of the currently selected feed in a feed subscription list. Shift-Command-C (⇧⌘C) will always copy the URL of the currently open article or the currently selected article in an article list.

These changes will not affect Unread for Mac. In some cases they will make keyboard shortcuts on iPhone and iPad more consistent with those in Unread for Mac.

I am always hesitant to change the behavior of a keyboard shortcut. In these specific cases I think the changes are for the best, and I hope they will have minimal impact.

Opting Out of Liquid Glass on iPhone and iPad at First

For now I am disabling liquid glass in Unread for iPhone and iPad. I anticipate incorporating liquid glass in future versions of Unread for iPhone and iPad, but I need to take some more time and do so carefully. Unread for Mac will have liquid glass on standard controls right away.

I look forward to sharing more when the operating systems are released.

Unread 4.5.2 is available from the App Store with these improvements:

• This update improves display of articles from danq.me.
• This update adds some webpage text improvements for some websites when using website accounts.

If you enjoy using Unread, please consider subscribing to its premium features.

Unread 4.5.1 is available from the App Store. This update incorporates these improvements:

• When downloading Bluesky posts from some feed services, Unread now generates better summaries and removes all titles.
• This update adds some webpage text improvements for some websites when using website accounts.

If you enjoy using Unread, please consider subscribing to its premium features.

Unread 4.5 adds Website Accounts, a new capability that lets you view webpage text for paywalled articles.

You can sign in to a website when viewing webpage text for such an article. On Mac, choose Sign In… from the View menu or use the ^⌥L (Control-Option-L) keyboard shortcut. On iPhone and iPad, swipe the screen to the left and choose Sign In… from the resulting menu. The ^⌥L (Control-Option-L) keyboard shortcut is also available on iPads with hardware keyboards. Once you have set up a website account in Unread, Unread will generate webpage text for articles from that website using your account.

You can manage your set of website accounts from under the Settings screen on iPhone and iPad.

You can manage your set of website accounts from the Settings window on Mac.

Caching

From the Settings window on Mac and from the Settings → Website Accounts screen on iPhone and iPad, you can enable an Eligible for Caching setting for each website account. This is off by default because some paywalled websites will block you for aggressively retrieving webpages.

Privacy

Generating webpage text using a website account is done entirely on your device. Unread’s servers are not involved. Unread’s servers do not see any information pertaining to your website accounts.

I updated the Unread Privacy Policy to reflect the addition of this capability with additional details.

Additional Improvements

• This update adds the ability to reload webpage text for an article. On Mac, choose Reload Webpage Text from the View menu or use the ^R (Control-R) keyboard shortcut. On iPhone and iPad, swipe the article screen to the left and choose Reload Webpage Text from the resulting menu. The ^R (Control-R) keyboard shortcut is also available on iPads with hardware keyboards.
• On the Advanced screen under Settings on iPhone and iPad, there is now an In-App Safari button. Tap that button to open an in-app Safari view with any URL that you enter. This can be useful when you want to authenticate in-app Safari with a magic link.
• This update adds a URL scheme making it easy to create a URL that opens Unread and offers to subscribe to a specific feed, or to find feeds associated with a website.
• This update removes both the Omnivore article action and the Pocket article action. Both services have shut down. The Unread privacy policy no longer links to the Omnivore privacy policy or the Pocket privacy policy.
• This update fixes a bug that prevented star (★) characters from appearing in article list summaries.
• Unread now draws light borders around YouTube channel icons when searching for a YouTube channel.
• This update adds minor compatibility improvements around the OS 26 beta versions.

Paying for quality journalism is now more important than ever, so I am particularly excited about this update. The update is available now from the App Store. If you enjoy using Unread, please consider subscribing to its premium features.

I just deployed improvements to Unread Cloud for the benefit of customers who subscribe to feeds of Bluesky accounts. Feed text for Bluesky posts now includes the full post content. This includes formatting, embedded images, and quoted posts. Webpage text for Bluesky posts already included this content, regardless of what type of feed service account (Unread Cloud, Feedbin, Feedly, etc.) you were using. Now this content is available right in the feed text if you are using an Unread Cloud account or a Local account.

When a Bluesky post contains a link to an outside article, Unread will now treat the post as a link article when using an Unread Cloud account or a Local account. If you show Feed and Webpage Text for such an article, you will see the Bluesky post and the full content of the article to which it links. This works just like link articles from Daring Fireball, for example. For customers who subscribe to Unread’s premium features and have webpage text caching enabled, the full text of the linked article will already be stored locally when you open such a Bluesky post. Therefore Unread will display it very quickly.

How It Works

Bluesky provides an RSS feed for each user. Bluesky’s feeds contain the text of and link to each post, but they exclude information such as formatting and embedded images. Fortunately Bluesky has an API that makes it feasible to obtain this additional information. Unread’s webpage text servers have been taking advantage of the Bluesky API to generate good webpage text for Bluesky posts for some time. Unread Cloud now takes advantage of this API so that the feed text for a Bluesky post includes the full content and so that Unread can display any article to which a Bluesky post links.

Webpage Text Settings

For new feed subscriptions, the default settings for a Bluesky feed subscription when in an Unread Cloud account or a Local account make Unread show Feed Text for traditional articles and Webpage Text for link articles. In Feedbin, Feedly, Fever, Inoreader, and NewsBlur accounts the default settings for a Bluesky feed subscription make Unread show Webpage Text. You may wish to update your settings for existing Bluesky feed subscriptions. A more detailed description of Unread’s webpage text capabilities and these settings is available.

The Bluesky changes apply to Bluesky posts made after 3:00 PM Boston time today (Monday).