Cool but frustrating little issues
I love this concept and want to love the app so much, but my initial take is that it’s kind of a mess. The feature of setting different article lifespans for different feeds is great, except when you go change the lifespan for a feed and then hit save, nothing gets saves, so there doesn’t seem to be any way to *use* the feature. I clicked something that opened an article preview pane, which is nice, but then there’s no way to close it - the entire control disappears! - and I was stuck until I figured out that “sift mode” under the view menu really means “hide preview pane.”
Basically - awesome thinking - please be a little less clever in the UI so users aren’t left scratching their heads wondering how to do what they want. And how do I actually change article lifespans? Because that’s one of the main things that attracted me to this, so it is a bummer to have paid my ten bucks and find it just isn’t there anywhere I can find it.
Basically - awesome thinking - please be a little less clever in the UI so users aren’t left scratching their heads wondering how to do what they want. And how do I actually change article lifespans? Because that’s one of the main things that attracted me to this, so it is a bummer to have paid my ten bucks and find it just isn’t there anywhere I can find it.
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Beautiful app
Current has become my preferred RSS reader. I love the reading pane, with its clean format, large readable fonts, and nice integration of text and images. It took me a few weeks to get used to Current’s method of managing feeds, but it’s working smoothly for me now. I have a few minor issues; I wish Current kept track of my position in the Voices sidebar, instead of returning me to the top of the list after reading an article. But overall, this is a great app!
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Beautifully done
Current has become my preferred RSS reader. I love the reading pane, with its clean format, large readable fonts, and nice integration of text and images. It took me a few weeks to get used to Current’s method of managing feeds, but it’s working smoothly for me now. I have a few minor issues; I wish Current kept track of my position in the Voices sidebar, instead of returning me to the top of the list after reading an article. But overall, this is a great app!
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Excellent app
This app has been a game changer for me. I have been so stressed with other RSS apps, feeling like it was homework to keep track of all those new posts. In the end I just did abandon the app. With this app I don’t have that issue at all, I love the concept of “currents” and “river”, and when the river sleeps, it feels liberating to me. It is very clever and innovative and I highly recommend it for anyone that has felt stressed with RSS apps in the past.
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Love everything but
The inoreader support. The app stops syncing after only a few days and I have to keep logging in.
…gaze upon the news as it drifts by…
Imagine yourself relaxing on a golden sand bar along the bank of a meandering river, sun shining down on your face, the gentle rustle of tall meadow grass in the distance. A tree branch floats by, bandied about by the current, green and yellow leaves swirl past, an occasional raft or kayak navigates the waterway. You glance up and watch them pass in and out of existence, resonating in your mind like a plucked guitar string fading into the wind.
This is how information should be consumed. Own your attention again.
This is how information should be consumed. Own your attention again.
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Poorly designed
Within the first few minutes of using this app I accidentally dismissed two different articles in two different ways. One by tapping an icon above the story, an icon with a totally mysterious design and function, so I tried it and poof, story gone. Another I accidentally swiped in the list, and again it's gone. That swiped does display a label by the icon that's revealed during the swipe but it's light font on a light background so I can barely read it. No undo. And no history of read stories that I can see. Also you can only browser the stories in the feed through a thin strip on the margin wasting the rest of the screen real estate. It's just not a great experience. How about you make that a little wider add a photo or something from the article? Shame on me for buying an app that the dev doesn't even let the customer try out first. I'm a sucker.
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This is how internet content should be digested.
In over 20 years of smartphone ownership, this singularly the best app I have ever installed. Online content can easily become overwhelming, in both speed and volume. That feeling has only grown over time as we’ve moved from blogs, news, forums to social media.
I’d love to see the “currrents” approach available on social media apps. Even decentralized social media, like Mastodon, can still give you a sense of endless scrolling to catch up on what you think you missed. FOMO is a real problem.
For now, my RSS feeds have become more human. More sane.
I’d love to see the “currrents” approach available on social media apps. Even decentralized social media, like Mastodon, can still give you a sense of endless scrolling to catch up on what you think you missed. FOMO is a real problem.
For now, my RSS feeds have become more human. More sane.
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Good idea, poor execution
I have to say that I love the idea behind the app, but I can’t shake the feeling that the execution was “vibe coded”. The app, particularly on iPad, is riddled with UI and interaction bugs (try running the app windowed and UI elements will overlap, article lists go blank, etc.). I fear that although the app has seen updates, the developer is already focused on his next project and Currents will permanently remain half broken.
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Good ideas but buggy Mac App
I really like the ideas but sadly at least the macOS app lacks a lot of polish and is riddled with a lot of smaller and bigger bugs that make daily-driving this app nearly impossible.
Just to name one, when I open an article, go back to my River and then close the window and open it later again by clicking the Dock icon, it re-opens the last opened article that I had already read…
Another more grave issue is that adjusting the Article lifespan for a source just doesn’t save most of the time.
Another thing that’s sadly missing is that none of the feeds show the proper favicons, just colored squares or circles that apparently can’t even be customized.
Speaking of small annoyances, the sidebar sometimes jumps around weirdly when right clicking on items, not a huge deal but gives the app a unpolished and buggy feel.
Just to name one, when I open an article, go back to my River and then close the window and open it later again by clicking the Dock icon, it re-opens the last opened article that I had already read…
Another more grave issue is that adjusting the Article lifespan for a source just doesn’t save most of the time.
Another thing that’s sadly missing is that none of the feeds show the proper favicons, just colored squares or circles that apparently can’t even be customized.
Speaking of small annoyances, the sidebar sometimes jumps around weirdly when right clicking on items, not a huge deal but gives the app a unpolished and buggy feel.
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Un lecteur RSS sans stress
Cette app est le travail d'un passionné, ça se voit.
Quel bonheur que de ne pas avoir un badge d'articles non lus comme sur les autres lecteurs de RSS !
De plus, j'apprécie grandement le fait de payer une fois et de ne pas devoir encore un énième abonnement perpétuel.
La seule chose qui manque selon moi est la possibilité d'avoir un filtrage de ses sources en local : pouvoir par exemple ne pas afficher certains éléments de certaines sources en fonction de mots-clés.
Quel bonheur que de ne pas avoir un badge d'articles non lus comme sur les autres lecteurs de RSS !
De plus, j'apprécie grandement le fait de payer une fois et de ne pas devoir encore un énième abonnement perpétuel.
La seule chose qui manque selon moi est la possibilité d'avoir un filtrage de ses sources en local : pouvoir par exemple ne pas afficher certains éléments de certaines sources en fonction de mots-clés.
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Update: really needs filters
Originally I had this at five stars, because it is awesome. And while that is true, it could really use filters for me to fine tune my sources.
The app has these weird overly general suggestions like “you skipped the last several stories about Apple,” but I really just want to stop seeing the Apple TV, Apple Music, and Apple Watch stories from that source (as an example).
Some sources cover a bunch of subjects, but I really just want one or two of them. I can filter very well on Bluesky, so I tend to not use Current nearly as much.
The app has these weird overly general suggestions like “you skipped the last several stories about Apple,” but I really just want to stop seeing the Apple TV, Apple Music, and Apple Watch stories from that source (as an example).
Some sources cover a bunch of subjects, but I really just want one or two of them. I can filter very well on Bluesky, so I tend to not use Current nearly as much.
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Very nice. Just two notes:
The reading view does not respond correctly to taps at the top, which should cause the article to scroll to the top.
The custom webview looks nice with its custom toolbar, but since the app needs to open a standard webview in order to display Safari Reader mode, there seems little point in not just opening the standard webview in the first place. Also, the custom webview doesn't support magnification.
The custom webview looks nice with its custom toolbar, but since the app needs to open a standard webview in order to display Safari Reader mode, there seems little point in not just opening the standard webview in the first place. Also, the custom webview doesn't support magnification.
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So much scrolling
This is a nice enough app, but it doesn't involve simple UI things that should be necessary. Why does clicking on river not take you to the top? You have to scroll and scroll and scroll and then pull down to refresh. Why?
I like the information this app delivers, but I hate the way it delivers it.
I like the information this app delivers, but I hate the way it delivers it.
Made me rediscover RSS
I’d used RSS years ago and gotten away from it. Terry’s blog posts introducing this intrigued me so I purchased Current Reader.
The app is definitely functional but designed to be beautiful to use and Terry is responsive if you have questions or even just praise.
Apps like this make using my Apple devices more pleasant. I appreciate that.
The app is definitely functional but designed to be beautiful to use and Terry is responsive if you have questions or even just praise.
Apps like this make using my Apple devices more pleasant. I appreciate that.
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Current and chill
This RSS reader is well thought out and a much less demanding-feeling way to keep up (or not) with my favourite sources.
Great app!
My new favorite reader! This app takes away the stress of subscribing to a lot of RSS feeds and helps me enjoy reading more.
By far the best RSS reader
Aside from its brilliant and unique approach to feeds, it’s also the best at allowing me to add sources I subscribe to such as a Substack or magazine which are behind a paywall. Bravo. Beautiful app!
Finally
I’ve finally found an RSS reader that seems perfectly okay with my tendency to just nope out of online life now and then. I don’t feel overwhelmed by unread stories. I can just hop in and vibe with the flow. This is a news aggregator that just sorta rolls with my flakiness. In the best way.
Switched from Reeder
Have used Reeder since waaay back and never thought I’d find anything as focused, polished, or purposeful to replace it. Until Current came along.
Reeder is the best as what it does and I’d say retains that title for all ‘email-RSS’ apps.
But Current has a distinctly different approach - an organic-esque stream of content based on your sources. It took me a while to adjust to the different pace for reading - the periods of emptiness felt awkward at first. But now I feel comfortable when it’s quiet. Calmer.
I slightly neurotically miss my Reeder archive - but honestly I’ve not got the greatest system for re-reading stuff so figure I’m gradually getting over it.
Am yet to fully get to grips with saving / releasing but I prefer to have a very small number of feeds so am really happy with my trickles of content now and then.
Thanks for creating this new way of consuming feeds.
Highly recommend you try it and give yourself a couple of weeks to adjust.
Reeder is the best as what it does and I’d say retains that title for all ‘email-RSS’ apps.
But Current has a distinctly different approach - an organic-esque stream of content based on your sources. It took me a while to adjust to the different pace for reading - the periods of emptiness felt awkward at first. But now I feel comfortable when it’s quiet. Calmer.
I slightly neurotically miss my Reeder archive - but honestly I’ve not got the greatest system for re-reading stuff so figure I’m gradually getting over it.
Am yet to fully get to grips with saving / releasing but I prefer to have a very small number of feeds so am really happy with my trickles of content now and then.
Thanks for creating this new way of consuming feeds.
Highly recommend you try it and give yourself a couple of weeks to adjust.
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