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NewsBlur iOS 4.0 features a new dashboard, gestures and sharing controls

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Today marks the release of version 4.0 of the NewsBlur iOS app. To illustrate the significance of this release I’d like to talk about where the app has been.

The first version of the NewsBlur iOS app was actually just an iPhone app. It launched in October 2011 and only allowed you to read your feeds individually. Within months the river of news (reading by folder) was added, along with better sharing controls, intelligence training, sharing to your blurblog, and the May 2013 re-design.

But similarly to the web, I wasn’t particularly proud of the app until I hit a major milestone. On the web, I hit that milestone with the May 2013 re-design. In the blog post announcing the wide ranging re-design, I wrote:

Not to say that NewsBlur was ugly before today, but it certainly didn’t have the loving embrace of a talented designer. So without waiting another moment (or month) I proudly present the NewsBlur redesign.

Fast forward to today where I am finally releasing an iOS app that I’m proud of. This one comes with a ton of great features, both for iPhone and iPad.

  • New dashboard for the iPad app: All Site Stories are now on the dashboard for easy access to stories. More to come with this new dashboard.
  • Tons of new gestures: double tap, 2 finger double tap, long press.
  • New gestures for the iPad app: swipe to dismiss the original story view.
  • Brand new sharing controls work with Facebook, Twitter, Email, iMessage, Instapaper, Pocket, Readability, App.Net, Pinboard, OmniFocus, Safari, Chrome, and Airdrop.
  • Inline images show a preview of the story in the story title.
  • Inline descriptions show a preview of the story’s content in the story title.
  • Improved landscape support for the iPad app.
  • Improved video support: videos are now fit better for each device.
  • Numerous bugs fixed resulting in speed improvements and cleaned up code.

If you want to tweet something along the lines of “Holy crap, the NewsBlur iOS app is nice! Only took four years” that would be alright. Download the free NewsBlur iOS app, and if you find yourself enjoying it, please leave a positive five star review on the App Store.

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nipun89
3921 days ago
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It's great the iOS app is getting so much love, but the disparity that now exists between the Android app and the iOS app is ridiculous. The Android app in its current state isn't worth using and I don't really see the point of sticking to NewsBlur if I can't use it when I'm mobile
Harare, Zimbabwe
farmjope
3921 days ago
I use the Android version of the app because I basically have to, but you're right, the disparity is ridiculous and every time I see these great updates it just reminds me how little they care about Android and all the user base.
wffurr
3921 days ago
The Android app works just fine. I use it all the time. iOS gets "more love" because that's where the users are. I say that in quotes, though, because the Android app has gotten plenty of updates over the past year too.
samuel
3921 days ago
The Android app is getting an update tomorrow and bigger ticket features are coming.
farmjope
3918 days ago
The new android app crashes regularly now, it did not before the update. Can we at least go back to the out-of-date-but-stable version?
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7 public comments
musictubes
3918 days ago
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In case you haven't seen it, Newsblur continues to get better and better. Worth checking out if you like RSS.
Falls Church, Virginia
fancycwabs
3919 days ago
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Update is fantastic, BUT for some reason trying to read blurblogs on the iPad caused it to crash to home. Reboot and closing everything didn't help, commenting on the iPhone version at the moment. Minor bug, I'm sure you'll hit it with the next update, and all the other improvements more than compensate. Thanks!
Nashville, Tennessee
samuel
3919 days ago
The fix was just approved this morning. Download 4.0.1.
fancycwabs
3919 days ago
See? This is why you're the best. Thanks!
davenelson
3920 days ago
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When I read a story on an iPad there is no way to close the story... I have to return to the home screen and manually kill the app.
Atlanta, Georgia
Jenngreg
3920 days ago
Swipe from the left hand side of the screen to close the story. Threw me off at first, too.
davenelson
3916 days ago
Thanks @Jenngreg
MotherHydra
3921 days ago
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Another solid update, keep this up and I'll never leave!
Space City, USA
samuel
3921 days ago
I'll tell you though, I am planning to start to build bigger features again, which can take time to roll out. I have some management stuff first.
TLKoontz
3921 days ago
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Yes!!! It really is...

I've grown to like it even more than Reeder2!

That's a big statement!

Keep it up!
ortwin
3921 days ago
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Great update!
Germany, Düsseldorf
smilerz
3922 days ago
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Love the update!
Any chance image zoom or save image are coming?
Chicago or thereabouts
samuel
3921 days ago
I would love to get these two in. I have some ideas that might make it in a release or two.

Version 3.0 of the NewsBlur Android App

6 Comments and 9 Shares

Hot on the heels of version 3.0 of the NewsBlur iOS app comes the next version of the Android app. A bunch of new features have made it into this release, including the new story navigation pane and the text view.

Here’s what you can see today in the Android app:

  • New story traversal buttons make it easy to flip between stories.
  • New text view fetches and parses the story from the original site.
  • New logo.
  • Public comments are now be hidden in preferences.
  • Ability to unsave stories.
  • Numerous bugs squashed and crashes fixed.

Thanks to our Android developer Daniel, the next version is already starting development, so shout out to @newsblur with your feedback and ideas for new features.

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nipun89
4012 days ago
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Please add the gestures that the iOS app has to the Android app (e.g. swipe to mark as read)
Harare, Zimbabwe
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foldip
4033 days ago
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Thanks for the "Unsave", still missing the "Offline" :)
llucax
4025 days ago
+1, offline is a MUST :)
nealkemp
4033 days ago
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Woohoo! Story mode is great, don't have to drop out the app for sites with holding pages any more!
London
vandalmonkey
4033 days ago
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Sideloaded it onto my BlackBerry Z10 and it works awesome! I wish NewsBlur would release an official app into BlackBerry World.
Canada
MatthewMk2
4033 days ago
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Works great sideloaded onto BlackBerry 10.
Canada
angelchrys
4033 days ago
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Hooray for being able to unsave stories!
Overland Park, KS
schneitj
4033 days ago
Yes, unsave was a huge feature for me. I use save as a triage, lacking this had me looking at alternatives.