Unread 2 released

Surprise appearance of Unread 2 on the iOS App Store! It’s here, and that means it’s time to check the new features against the wishlist I have created a while ago. If you’d like to read a full review, I’d recommend the Macstories review by Rian Christoffel

In short, a surprising number of my wishes became reality:

  • filter all and starred articles: there is some support for it, but not on the level of single subscriptions. Check-ish.
  • Keyboard shortcuts: check.
  • Readability on a per-feed basis: the new Unread extracts the full text for all subscriptions, server-side, by default. Not bad. Check.
  • Administration of subscriptions: check.
  • Change font size in smaller increments: no, and this is actually a big disappointment. The increments are way too big for an app that puts the reading experience front and center.

To drive this point home, I have created two screen shots on my iPad. The first was taken while using the smallest font size, called “Atomic”:

Screenshot of fontsize "Atomic"

The second screenshot was taken after increasing the font size by one stop. This setting is called “Tiny”1:

Screenshot of fontsize "Tiny"

As much as I appreciate the other features shipped with version 2.0, the unsolved fontsize issue gives me pause with respect to buying a subscription to the app.


  1. I kid you not, the biggest font size is called “Galactic” and people with more or less normal sight can comfortably read it from 3 meters distance. 
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