Reeder For Mac

Let’s face it: RSS is a terribly nerdy wasteland of .xml feeds and weird formatting. Reeder is the shining hope that it doesn’t have to be that way. Already our favourite RSS app on iOS, it’s finally available for Mac.

What is it?

Reeder, $13, Mac. The beta version of Reeder for Mac has been lurking on the interwebs for a while now but it only recently reached 1.0 status. What does that mean? Well, like any RSS reader, it grabs all the websites you read and places them in a single app. Reeder syncs with Google Reader and offers complete Readability integration along with being able to send articles to Instapaper, ReaditLater, post links to Twitter, email links and more. The great thing is that even with all these features packed into the app, it’s so elegantly displayed that Reeder never feels heavy.

But as beautiful as it is to use, the best part of Reeder is how customisable it is. Unlike the iOS version of Reeder, nearly everything on the Mac version can be personalised to your liking. If you don’t want a three column layout, you can roll with a Twitter-esque design. If you want to tweak gestures, change keyboard shortcuts, switch fonts, or hell, even swap the colour of the app – it’s all possible. So as pretty as the app looks from the start, you can make it perfect for your eyes and usable for your habits.

As much as I’ve used and loved Reeder for iOS over the years, Reeder for Mac might be the best version of Reeder yet.

Who’s it good for?

People who like to read on the internet. People who use RSS. People who like well-designed applications. People who want to read more.

Why’s it better than the alternatives?

I use Google’s web app and NetNewsWire on the daily, and they’re both still serviceable, but my eyes won’t let me go back. Using Reeder is like finding ‘the one’, it’ll take time to get used to it but you know nothing will ever measure up. And if you’re the type of person who cares about UIs and elegant design, it’s just miles ahead of the competition. If you’re not, Reeder might convert you.

How could it be even better?

You can edit your feeds within Reeder but you have to pop open an extra window, it’d be nice if it was within the same window. Multiple account support isn’t as fleshed out as it should be, requiring a specific key click upon launch. It took a little longer loading YouTube videos than I expected too. Paying $13 isn’t terrible for something you’ll use everyday but other apps are free, so it’s a little on the expensive side.

Reeder for Mac [Mac App Store]


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