Read-it-later apps are meant for those times when you stumble onto an article you’re interested in reading but can’t get to at the moment. You can save the article to the app, and open the app later when you have time to catch up on some reading. These apps generally cache a version of the article, so you can read them offline.
Every major read-it-later service I know about—Pocket, Instapaper, and the up-and-coming Omnivore (which is great for reading newsletters)—depends on a web version with a user account. But that’s not the case with Flyleaf, which stores your articles on an Apple device, with syncing handled using iCloud. The developer, Max Melzer, told me that the application collects no user data whatsoever, which is also a plus.
None of this matters if the reading experience sucks, though, which is where I really like Flyleaf. The focus, by default, is on “book-like pagination.” This means that while you’re reading, you “turn the page” left and right instead of scrolling down. Melzer told me that this kind of reading is “superior for focused reading as compared to continuous vertical scrolling, because you need to scroll around less and have better spacial orientation,” and having played with his app for a bit, I’m inclined to agree. Having said that, you can turn the feature off in the setting.
There are a number of other great touches here. The app makes use of Apple’s sharing functionality, so there’s no plugins needed in order to save articles. When you finish an article, you are offered the RSS feed for the source material, which I haven’t seen in any other application and really appreciate. There’s also support of Apple Shortcuts, meaning you could build your own automation to do things like add articles to your reading queue.
Everything I’ve mentioned is included in the free version. A few features, including tagging and custom color schemes, are only offered with a $2 per month—or $17 per year—subscription.
The app is well thought-through. There are a few snags—syncing was a touch slow for me at times—but there’s a lot here to like. I’ve been a loyal Pocket user for a long time, and that might be coming to an end.
