5 best RSS reader apps for iPhone

After years of oblivion, RSS is slowly reviving. RSS is the only reliable way to see what you really want, as opposed to what algorithms want users to see like on Twitter or Facebook.

When choosing to go back to RSS (or start with a new account), you’ll need a news reader. Thankfully, there are some great RSS readers on the iPhone. But how do you know which is the right choice for you? Check out the top 5 picks below!

RSS reader and news reader

First, learn about RSS. Many users have misconceptions about what an RSS client really is. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. RSS has an open protocol that any website can use.

The RSS feed of a website includes the latest articles. The job of an RSS reader is to accept any RSS feed and present its content to the reader in a list. If a new source cannot be added using the RSS feed link, it is not an RSS reader.

A good example of this is Flipboard. Flipboard is a great news reader with a closed system of approved publishers, but it is not an RSS reader (similar to Apple News). Users cannot add their own sources using RSS links in these applications.

If you want complete control over your news reading experience, you should create an account with Feedly, add your favorite sources, and use an RSS reader app on your iPhone to improve your reading experience.

5 best RSS reader apps for iPhone

1. Feedly

Since Google “killed” Google Reader, Feedly has become the RSS service for most users. And over the past few years, Feedly has added new and exciting features to keep its top spot.

For years, users may have only used Feedly as a syncing service with third-party apps. Now, it’s time to take another look at the Feedly app for iPhone.

The new Feedly iOS app is very intuitive to use. When users upload their sources, the most important news feed will appear. Users can swipe through articles and use gestures to go back. When you tap a link, it opens in the built-in Safari browser, with Reader Mode enabled by default. Press the button Menu and you can see the whole directory structure and source.

Plus, night mode is especially good on the new iPhone models. Since Feedly is the most popular RSS service, it has the most useful Discover tool of any RSS client. Feedly is a great way to find new sources, and even works as a research tool for a specific topic.

Download Feedly (Free, subscription available).

2. Unread

If you care more about the reading experience than anything else, Unread is the app for you. This is a carefully designed reader application that pulls content from all of the user’s RSS feeds and presents it as a text-only list of articles. The app supports popular RSS services like Feedly, Feedbin, Inoreader, NewsBlur and Feed Wrangler.

The application has no visible UI elements and is therefore completely gesture dependent. When clicking on an article, all the user will see will be text and images. Swipe right to go back; swipe left to see options. You can switch to another topic or share the article to another app from there.

The free version of Unread allows reading the first 50 articles (and then 3 articles per day). You can pay $ 10 (VND 230,000) to unlock the full application and get 8 additional themes.

Download Unread (Premium and free versions are available).

3. Lire

If you’re looking for a lightweight RSS reader, Lire is the app for you. Lire uses the standard iOS design language to present a simple reading experience. But the app also allows users to customize every part of the reading screen. This is the most important thing.

The best aspect of Lire is that it has a full text reader. Normally, when browsing RSS feeds, users have to click on a link to load the entire article in the browser. Lire automatically downloads the full text of the article, converting a partial feed into a full feed. This feature alone makes Lire worthwhile for advanced RSS users.

Download Lire ($7/161,000VND).

4. Fiery Feeds

If you don’t feel Lire is a good fit, or if you don’t want to buy an app right away, try Fiery Feeds. Just like Lire, Fiery Feed takes the iOS design language as a basis and builds on it as well. This app has a bottom toolbar for quick actions and also supports navigation gestures.

Users get access to a few color schemes in the free version (along with a nice dark mode). And of course, users can customize the reading mode. But if you are a premium user, you will want to upgrade to the Premium version for $ 10 (VND 230,000)/year.

Fiery Feeds also extracts full text similar to Lire. The app will load the full text of the article even if the feed is truncated. In addition, users have access to Smart Views automatically filter the high and low frequency feeds.

A unique feature in Fiery Feeds are custom themes. You can customize your own themes and even import theme files directly from iCloud Drive.

Download Fiery Feeds (Free, subscription available).

5. Inoreader

Inoreader is the preferred RSS syncing service for bookworms. If you are interested in the specifics of how exactly subscriptions sync, and if you want to enable server-side filtering and automation, you should use Inoreader. When it comes to the user interface, Inoreader looks more like a traditional news reader than an RSS reader. You can subscribe to topics to get started and the app will open in magazine view by default.

Dig deeper and you’ll find a folder structure, a dark mode, a shortcut to load the full text of an article, and a powerful tagging system. Inoreader also offers a customizable reading screen.

The free account allows users to subscribe to 150 feeds. Users can pay for the Pro version to use offline mode for selected directories and the ability to search through all public articles.

Download Inoreader (Free, subscription available).

If you’re just getting started with RSS, try Feedly first. This app will help you to discover sources, topics and websites. The app also has a very good reading experience. Once you have a good understanding of RSS, you can try switching to a more powerful application like Lire or Inoreader. If you only plan on subscribing to a handful of sites and want the cleanest reading interface possible, consider Unread.

As the article mentioned, there are many RSS applications available. Many applications blur the line between pure RSS and a magazine-style news reader. Newsify is a prime example of this.

If you’ve tried using RSS but find it too complicated, you can always switch back to news reading apps like Flipboard, News360, and Nuzzel.

Good luck with your choice!