Last updated for Unread 4.3: November 12, 2024
Unread 4.3 Release Date and Time: November 19, 2024 at 10:00 AM Boston time
Unread is an RSS reader with beautiful typography, a variety of color themes, and great handling of summary-only feeds.
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Links and Details
Product Page: https://www.goldenhillsoftware.com/unread/
App Store Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/unread-an-rss-reader/id1363637349
Mastodon: @unread@mastodon.goldenhillsoftware.com
Requirements: Unread 4.3 requires macOS 14.2 or later; iOS 17.0 or later; or iPadOS 17.0 or later.
Pricing: Most functionality is free. Premium functionality is available with a $29.99 (USD)/year or $4.99 (USD)/month subscription. A single subscription works across Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
Contact: John Brayton (jbrayton@goldenhillsoftware.com)
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Unread 4.3 Release Notes
New Article Actions: Anybox, Flyleaf, Matter, and wallabag
This update adds new premium article actions for Anybox, Flyleaf, Matter, and wallabag. Like other article actions, you can invoke these in any of the following ways:
- Using the context menu of an article in an article list.
- Using the context menu of a link in any article.
- Using a toolbar button on Mac. Article action toolbar buttons are not present by default, but you can add them to the toolbar by choosing Customize Toolbar… from the View menu.
- Using the swipe left menu from inside an article on iPhone or iPad.
- Using a keyboard shortcut on Mac, or on iPhone or iPad with a hardware keyboard.
The Anybox article action requires that the Anybox app be installed. On iPhone and iPad, the Anybox article action works by opening Anybox. Anybox will open briefly, and it will then bring Unread back to the foreground. On Mac, the Anybox article action works by opening Anybox in the background.
Similarly the Flyleaf article action requires that the Flyleaf app be installed. On iPhone and iPad, the Flyleaf article action works by opening Flyleaf. Flyleaf will open briefly, and it will then bring Unread back to the foreground. On Mac, the Flyleaf article action works by opening Flyleaf in the background.
The Matter article action requires installing a shortcut. Unread provides a button that makes installing that shortcut easy. The Matter article action also requires that the Matter iPhone/iPad app be installed. The Matter shortcut will save the article via the Matter app. Since the Matter app runs on Mac with Apple Silicon, this article action runs on Mac with Apple Silicon, iPhone, and iPad. On iPhone and iPad, the Matter article action works by opening Shortcuts. Shortcuts will open briefly, and it will then bring Unread back to the foreground. On Mac, the Matter article action works by opening Shortcuts in the background.
The wallabag article action sends links directly to wallabag via its API.
These article actions require a subscription to Unread’s premium features.
Custom Keyboard Shortcuts for Premium Article Actions
Unread now lets you set a custom keyboard shortcut for each premium article action. This is available on any Mac, iPad, or iPhone with a hardware keyboard. You can set these in the Article Actions pane of the Settings window on Mac, or on the Article Actions settings screen of iPhone or iPad.
By default keyboard shortcut settings are not visible on iPhone. To see and edit them, open the Article Actions settings screen, swipe the screen to the left, and select Show Shortcuts from the resulting menu.
The interfaces for setting up article actions now show an appropriate icon for each article action.
Article actions are available to customers who subscribe to Unread’s premium features.
Run Shortcuts on Articles and Links
Unread now lets you run shortcuts on articles and links. The shortcuts are defined in the Shortcuts app. Unread sends a dictionary to the shortcut that includes the URL, article title, and other metadata. The shortcut can perform any task with that input data.
You can invoke a shortcut in any of the following ways:
- Using the context menu on an article in an article list.
- Using the context menu of a link in any article.
- Using an optional toolbar menu on Mac. The Shortcuts toolbar menu is not present by default, but you can add it to the toolbar by choosing Customize Toolbar… from the View menu.
- Using the swipe left menu from inside an article on iPhone or iPad.
- Using a user-defined keyboard shortcut on Mac, or on iPhone and iPad with a hardware keyboard.
This functionality is similar to Unread’s Article Actions, but you define the functionality with a shortcut.
This functionality requires a subscription to Unread’s premium features.
A guide for developing and using shortcuts from Unread is available with more details and a sample shortcut.
Custom Keyboard Shortcut Notes
If you choose a custom keyboard shortcut that Unread is using for another keyboard command or menu item, Unread will warn you first and then allow you to instead use the keyboard shortcut for the article action or shortcut. For example if you indicate that you want ⌘P to invoke the Pocket article action on Mac, Unread will warn you that this keyboard shortcut is used for the Print… menu item. You can then either cancel, or reassign ⌘P to Pocket.
Unread supports using a single key, such as a letter, as a custom keyboard shortcut on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
Recording a keyboard shortcut on iPad or iPhone requires a hardware keyboard.
Additional Improvements
- Omnivore has shut down its hosted service. Unread’s Omnivore article action still works and is still supported for customers running their own Omnivore server. When enabling the Omnivore article action, Unread no longer asks whether to use the Omnivore hosted service. It just asks for the Omnivore server URL.
- This update improves feed discovery for dw.com.
- On Mac, the ability to import and export subscriptions is now also available from the File menu. Importing subscriptions is only available for Unread Cloud and Local accounts.
- Unread’s dark mode icon on iPhone and iPad now uses the standard iOS/iPadOS dark mode background.
- I changed the color of the Mail Content article action icon on iPhone and iPad.
What Makes Unread Different From Other RSS Readers
Automatic Webpage Text: For articles from feeds that contain only summaries, Unread displays full article text from the webpage. Unread attempts to determine whether each feed is summary-only or contains full article content. For summary-only feeds, Unread displays webpage text by default. You can change this for each feed. Unread can cache webpage text and images ahead of time, allowing articles to be displayed very quickly and when offline. Unread’s caching feature requires a subscription to premium features.
Unread Cloud: Unread Cloud is a syncing and feed retrieval system for Unread. Create or log in to an Unread Cloud account from all your devices using Sign in with Apple. With an Unread Cloud account, our servers retrieve articles from feeds, and your device retrieves those articles from our servers. This makes refreshing your account fast, reduces the battery power and bandwidth required by your device, and ensures that you do not miss articles when your device is offline. Since Unread Cloud is independent of iCloud, syncing is not subject to iCloud’s throttling and does not consume iCloud storage. Unread can also sync with Feedbin, Feedly, Fever API-compatible services, Inoreader, and NewsBlur.
Subscribe in Unread: Subscribe in Unread is a share extension that makes it easy to subscribe to feeds offered by a website when visiting with Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or just about any other browser. It even works from the YouTube app, letting you subscribe to YouTube’s channel and playlist feeds.
Save to Unread: Save to Unread is a share extension that creates an article in Unread based on the contents of the webpage you are visiting with Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or just about any other browser. Save to Unread works with an Unread Cloud, Local, Feedbin, Feedly, or NewsBlur account. Save to Unread requires a subscription to Unread’s premium features.
Beautiful Typography: Unread renders articles using the Whitney font from Hoefler&Co.
Designed for Comfort: On iPhone or iPad, move anywhere in the app with a sweep of your thumb, without having to reposition your hand. Unread’s stacked navigation was built from scratch to be the most comfortable interface you’ve ever used. Flick left-to-right to go back from anywhere on the screen. Tug any screen right-to-left to show options for that screen.
Multiple Themes: Unread includes 14 different themes including a Day theme, a Night theme, and a Black theme. You can set one theme for light mode and another for dark mode.
Accessibility: Unread has 100% VoiceOver coverage. Every screen and every feature is available to users with vision impairments. Font sizes are adjustable.
Footnote Popovers: Articles with properly formatted footnotes will show convenient popovers when you need to read a footnote.
iPad Features: Unread has great support for trackpads and multiple windows. Almost all navigation and operations can be performed from a hardware keyboard.
Great Widgets: Unread has widgets that let you monitor recent articles and unread article counts. The Articles widget lets you limit articles to a feed or folder. Limiting articles to a feed or folder requires a subscription.
Article Actions: Unread has article actions allowing you to save articles to Anybox, Flyleaf, GoodLinks, Instapaper, Matter, Omnivore, Pinboard, Plinky, Pocket, Raindrop.io, Readwise, Safari Reading List, and wallabag; for sharing article links via email; and for sharing article links via Messages. Article actions require a subscription to Unread’s premium features.
Shortcuts: Run your own shortcuts on articles and links inside articles. This requires a subscription to Unread’s premium features.
Who is Behind Unread
John Brayton develops Unread at Golden Hill Software. Golden Hill Software develops apps for Apple platforms. Golden Hill Software is owned and operated by John and is located in Massachusetts.
Jared Sinclair originally wrote Unread. Supertop later acquired Unread and maintained it for several years. Golden Hill Software acquired Unread from Supertop in August 2017.
Unread’s Premium Features for Paying Subscribers
Unread’s core functionality is free. A subscription is available that unlocks premium features:
Caching: Cache webpage text and images ahead of time.
Save to Unread: A share extension that creates an article in Unread from the webpage you are visiting with Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or any other web browser. Save to Unread works with an Unread Cloud, Local, Feedbin, Feedly, or NewsBlur account.
Custom Icons: Unread offers 32 different icon options. The shapes are the same but they have different color schemes. On iPhone and iPad, the custom icon always appears on the home screen. On Mac the custom icon appears in the dock while Unread is running.
Article Actions: Unread’s article actions let you save articles to Anybox, Flyleaf, GoodLinks, Instapaper, Matter, Omnivore, Pinboard, Plinky, Pocket, Raindrop.io, Readwise, Safari Reading List, and wallabag; share article links via email; and share article links via iMessage.
Shortcuts: Run your own shortcuts on articles and links inside articles.
Widget Customization: Limit articles or unread article counts shown by widgets to specific feeds or folders.
Premium Support: Paying customers get first class customer support.
