While Feedly as a backend service has been quite fine for us Google Reader refugees, it’s no secret their official app isn’t the best news reading experience to be had. Many issues plagued the app, including a rather useless widget and inconsistencies with scrolling. Thankfully, both of those things — and more — have been addressed with today’s big update.
It’s Feedly version 17, and the changelog is massive. Here’s what you can expect once you’ve updated the app:
- New version of the android widget
- 300% faster start time
- More fluid scrolling experience
- Better fonts and visual design
- Search in my feedly (pro)
- New discover section
- Enhanced feed search
- No auto-refresh on restart
- New Facebook SDK integration
- Support for Samsung Gear
Unfortunately, that fourth point — better fonts and visual design — means custom fonts are no longer supported in Feedly. The app now uses Android’s standard Roboto font, which isn’t the most terrible thing in the world.
Such a big release doesn’t come about without some help, though: Feedly actually got help from the Google team with all of this, and it’s something we hope will continue. Feedly is the biggest RSS platform after the death of Reader, after all — it’d be a shame if they weren’t doing everything they could to live up to the lofty expectations of everyone who was affected by that unfortunate event.
The update is available right now in the Google Play Store, so get on over there and download it if you aren’t already in love with one of the many third-party Feedly-compatible RSS apps available.
gReader Pro is the best client I’ve found for feedly. I’ve been using it for years (previously for Google reader) and love it!
“In the hands of God: Do You Want Yo Live?” LOL! what kind of god-fearing crap is that!
Google will eventually buy them back, that’s all.