Changelog

What's new in Newsbin.

Newsbin is under active development — updates land almost every week. Here's the running list. Subscribe to the feed to follow along.

  1. 1.18.3

    Sync overhaul

    • Sync overhaul: session reads and unreads write directly to the database as the single source of truth, removing parallel queues and duplicate broadcasts.
    • iCloud Reader and full articles are now enabled by default for new installs, with a “Refresh on startup” option to pull the latest articles every time Newsbin opens.
    • Session read overlay updates sidebar badges and the app icon count the moment you mark items read by scrolling.
    • Folder deletions are broadcast to nearby devices first, preventing deleted folders and feeds from being resurrected.
    • Hardened RSS parsing: feed HTML is sanitized against unsafe scripts and schemes, image URLs are restricted to http(s), and failed feeds are surfaced in the refresh status.
    • More reliable StoreKit restores: unfinished transactions are drained on launch and refreshes are coalesced, fixing repeated redelivery and auth prompts.
    • Faster Subscription screen and various localization and UI fixes.
  2. 1.18.2

    YouTube and timestamp polish

    • YouTube feeds: alternate video links are detected and promoted to first-class video items.
    • “Time ago” labels use a rolling 24-hour and 7-day window for accuracy.
    • New item counts on refresh match what actually passes your filters.
    • Smoother sidebar rendering and faster badge updates.
    • Fixed an iPad duplicate subtitle and “Mark all read” restoring the focused article.
  3. 1.18.1

    Stability release

    • Faster list refreshes and fewer duplicate items after large syncs.
    • Fixed background crashes by guarding database work while the app is suspended.
    • New per-folder and per-feed Archive action in the article toolbar.
    • Cleaned up orphaned feeds and duplicate folders left behind by deletions.
    • Large articles load via the JavaScript bridge after navigation, avoiding crashes.
  4. 1.18.0

    Group by website

    • Group by Website: article list sections by source with favicon headers and one-tap mark-as-read.
    • Optional auto-read: website sections mark themselves read as you scroll past.
    • New Unreads settings panel and haptic feedback on common actions.
    • Nearby sync now uses history-based reconciliation — deletions stick, peers catch up after being offline.
    • More stable iCloud sync, faster startup, and broader localization.
    • Preserved read state on re-parse and fixed the “Icon Changed” alert on launch.
  5. 1.17.0

    In-app browser

    • New in-app browser: open article links without leaving Newsbin (optional).
    • Snappier scrolling and faster, more accurate unread badges — including nested folders.
    • Article refreshes and database maintenance now run in the background.
    • Smoother sidebar and image loading with smarter favicon prefetching.
    • Fixed background-write crashes, a nearby-sync hang, and backup memory crashes.
  6. 1.16.4

    Reinstall restore fix

    • Fixed grandfathered purchase restore after reinstalling Newsbin.
  7. 1.16.1

    Restore fix

    • Fixed an issue where grandfathered users could not restore their purchase.
  8. 1.16.2

    Restore fix, continued

    • Further fixes for grandfathered users restoring purchases.
  9. 1.16.0

    Apple Watch companion

    • Apple Watch companion: browse feeds on your wrist with WatchConnectivity sync and background file transfer.
    • Nearby sync overhaul: resource-based transport, mutual invites, and phase sync.
    • Import deduplication via a new ID registry — no more duplicate articles.
    • More reliable CloudKit background sync with automatic change-token recovery.
    • Smarter RSS parsing, unified Blogger and Reddit parsers, faster launches.
    • Migrated app state to Swift’s Observation API for a snappier UI, plus visionOS tuning.
    • Fixed deletion propagation, sync timeouts, and thumbnail parsing issues.
  10. 1.15.1

    Restore purchase fix

    • Fixed an issue where the “Restore Purchase” button was non-responsive.
  11. 1.14.0

    Free to try

    • Newsbin is now free to try, with subscription and lifetime unlock options.
    • New Safari Extension for quickly adding feeds while browsing.
    • Zoom support for images and an updated app icon.
    • Resolved an async stutter, improved Blogger and Reddit parsing, and fixed RTL/LTR layout issues.
  12. 1.15.0

    More reading options

    • More reading options and improved purchase messaging, plus bug fixes.
  13. 1.13.0

    Deeper system integration

    • App Shortcuts, Dock quick actions, and Handoff support.
    • Improved video detection with fewer false positives.
    • Better reader-mode detection and batched media scanning.
    • Updated visionOS styles and expanded localizations with new notification options.
  14. 1.12.0

    YouTube feeds

    • Full YouTube RSS support — follow channels like any other feed, with proper media detection.
    • Force refresh fully clears cached HTML for clean re-parsing.
    • More robust background syncing and iCloud message handling.
    • Reduced stale state, clearer error feedback, and updated localizations.
  15. 1.11.1

    Discovery and polish

    • Faster, more reliable feed discovery, including redirected feed URLs.
    • More efficient, lifecycle-aware background media scanning.
    • Fixed an iPad double-title bug and iOS navigation glitches.
    • Parsers now skip non-article “demo” pages and fall back to RSS content.
    • Option to show or hide favicons, plus greatly improved French translations.
  16. 1.11.0

    Widgets and Spotlight

    • Widgets on all supported platforms for quick access to your feeds.
    • System-wide Spotlight search to instantly find articles.
    • Vastly improved Apple Watch app with faster sync.
    • New folder support to group and organize feeds.
    • Major overhaul of article loading, caching, and display.
    • Better support for non-standard feeds and a large internal refactor.
  17. 1.10.4

    Faster article loading

    • All-new HTML loading system with caching, deduplication, and prefetching.
    • Smarter feed parsing with fallbacks for unusual RSS and Atom formats.
    • Better video support with cleaner detection and improved thumbnails.
    • More robust Nearby syncing on a streamlined transport layer.
    • Cleaner titles and more accurate dates via improved normalization.
  18. 1.10.3

    Clearer sync status

    • New sync status indicator with clearer iCloud and device sync feedback.
    • Refined onboarding with iCloud and nearby sync setup, plus restore-from-backup.
    • Smoother sidebar and toolbar animations, minor design tweaks, and fixes.
  19. 1.10.2

    Speed for big libraries

    • Huge speed improvements for users with lots of feeds.
    • Edit tags directly with simple built-in tools.
    • Hide followed feeds that have no unread articles.
    • More accurate unread badges, improved notifications, and a refreshed article reader.
  20. 1.9.0

    The big redesign

    • Complete redesign of Newsbin’s appearance, performance, and sync foundation.
    • Accent colors everywhere — customize tint, icons, and themes with iCloud sync.
    • New app icons in multiple color sets.
    • Redesigned two-column Settings and a dynamic sidebar for Mac, iPad, and Vision Pro.
    • Completely refactored iCloud and Nearby peer-to-peer sync, plus a new peer backup system.
    • Improved focus and keyboard navigation, refined toolbars, expanded localization.
    • Faster startup, smoother scrolling, and modern Swift 6 architecture under the hood.
  21. 1.8.4

    Smart group fix

    • Fixed an issue that prevented smart groups from being deleted, plus minor improvements.
  22. 1.8.2

    Performance patch

    • Addressed performance and stability issues.
  23. 1.8.0

    Nearby device sync

    • Nearby Device Sync: sync articles, read states, and preferences directly between devices — even without iCloud.
    • Smarter, faster badges with atomic updates and local caching.
    • Manual sidebar sorting for followed feeds and smart groups.
    • Smoother animations and better media handling while reading.
    • Smarter date detection for more feed formats and a new modular logging system.
  24. 1.7.1

    Badge and feed fixes

    • Fixed issues with badges, subtitles, and certain feeds.
  25. 1.6.2

    Stability patch

    • Addressed stability and performance issues following the 1.6 release.
  26. 1.6.0

    Ready for iOS 26

    • Fully updated for iOS 26, macOS 26, and visionOS 26.
    • Major performance boost from a re-engineered core foundation.
    • Reader mode now preserves audio, video, and rich embeds.
    • Smarter iCloud sync for settings, unread counts, and badges.
    • More viewing options, text size, and row size controls.
  27. 1.5.0

    Full articles arrive

    • Read complete articles right inside Newsbin with the new reader mode — no more snippets or click-throughs.
    • Cleaner, easier-to-read formatting.
    • Force refresh for instant feed updates.
    • Faster, leaner, and more reliable overall.
  28. 1.4.2

    Cleaner imports

    • More accurate validation when adding new feeds.
    • Smarter detection powered by improved pattern matching.
    • Cleaner and more reliable OPML imports, plus general polish.
  29. 1.4.1

    Discovery follow-ups

    • Improved feed validation — fewer false “invalid” errors.
    • Added manual feed entry as a fallback option.
    • Better handling of enclosure tags in feeds.
    • Fixed the OPML import button during onboarding on macOS.
  30. 1.4.0

    Smarter feed discovery

    • Reimagined feed discovery with improved validation and fallback strategies.
    • Better article previews with enhanced thumbnail and media parsing.
    • Easier, more reliable OPML imports and cleaner summaries from multiple feed fields.
    • Faster sidebar rendering, smoother tab changes, and streamlined unread counts.
    • New connection settings for troubleshooting, plus expanded translations.
    • Fixed crashes from missing feed titles and refined markdown handling.