Feedly - Smart News Reader

I escaped social media years ago and needed to find a consolidated place where I could get informed. This did it. I used it for free for some time but realized of the benefits of going pro+. I believe it’s a pricy app but this is the only service I use, I’ve connected all the sources I trust, magazines I like and publications I enjoy. I really like the ability to follow specific topics across the web without being source specific. This truly allows you to harness a lot of information in a clean and streamlined manner. I check it constantly and really enjoy reading and discovering things otherwise wouldn’t come across. I don’t get why it gets so many negative reviews. It worked for me since day one without issues. Those complaining with the ads in the free version, check your phone settings. I’m happy paying to avoid advertising and even when I downloaded it for free, Feedly didn’t throw unreasonable amounts of ads as some say. Now as a premium user, ads is a thing of the past. I also have strict measures in browser to further enforce an ad-free reading experience.

I have used and loved Feedly for years until the latest update, which overhauled the UI/UX. There were no prior notifications that this change was coming and no opt-in process. You will automatically get a completely new version of Feedly if you update. To add to the pain, there has been no change management or on-boarding for the new changes. Gestures and features I had been using for years were suddenly changed and switched around without explanation. I find swiping right for “Read Later” to be more inconvenient and visually jarring than long pressing. I wouldn’t mind so much if there were an option to customize this behavior, but there isn’t. The “truer” magazine style has been removed with equally sized cards providing a less interesting experience. The “hotness” count was removed as well, which I found to be a useful gauge. The “Today” default appears to now present content in waves that need be marked “Read” before seeing the next wave of articles. It’s strange and less fluid than the last version. Many customization options have been removed as well. Updates are great, but big changes should be introduced gracefully and incrementally over time, not all at once in a single forced update. The whole execution of this change was too rushed and the arrogant assumption that “old habits die hard” explains why we wouldn’t appreciate the update just rubs me the wrong way. I hope the developers learn an old tried and true lesson here. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

I use Feedly daily and have truly loved the app but these new UI changes are a HUGE step backwards. Amongst other problems the new layout renders a process that used to be more dynamic incredibly boring. On a phone it might not be so bad and probably makes a lot of sense, but the limitations on an iPad are pretty miserable. The randomness of layout and variation of image sizes used to give more of a magazine like reading experience and now what’s being presented has all the charisma of the results of a Google search. PLEASE undo this or give more options to return to what it was prior. Haven't given up on the app yet given how long I’ve truly enjoyed it BUT can’t imagine continuing to use it for too long in this form. Originally gave this a single star but am raising my rating slightly. I still don’t like the bulk of the changes in this new version but I do appreciate that the developer has given us the option to use what I think is a preferable UI in another app now called 'classic'. That said, I wish the new app had been something one opted into with the old one simply renamed rather than throwing users into something so different via an 'upgrade' like this. Moves like that always make me a little distrustful of developers and less likely to opt into in app purchases, etc. That said, the ability to download 'classic' addresses that distrust a bit.