Readwise killer
I used Readwise for almost four years, but at some point, I noticed that they started focusing on things that are less important to the user experience. For instance, transcripts included timestamps from any podcast or YouTube video, and when I contacted them to address that, they just ignored me. That is only one example; there are many more instances where I asked for changes that impacted the user experience, and they did not address them.
So, I decided to look at what else exists besides Readwise and found an application called Screvi. The application provides a generous 14-day trial period, and after using it for 14 days, I fell in love with it. First of all, the user interface is very clean. Second is the features. One of the most important features for me is that if I have an ebook, I can include it in my highlights. When I click on a highlight, it opens it directly in the book, which is very useful.
Another feature is the AI-generated summary, which is much better than in Readwise. When I asked Readwise to use my tokens for an AI-generated summary, they limited it to only 1,000 characters. I couldn't believe that, and when I contacted them, they refused to change that limit. That is not the case with Screvi; their AI-generated summary is so good that I didn't even need to connect to my own LLM model. Another feature is AI tagging, which allows me to tag my books or highlights by AI. That helps a lot.
But the biggest and most important thing is the support from Pedro, the owner of this application. He listens to and understands what is important and what needs to be implemented. I contacted him a number of times, and he was always responsive. Most of the features I suggested, if they made sense, he added to the application. Overall, the application is still growing and needs more implementation, but because of how clean it is and how nice and responsive Pedro is, I am very happy with it. Because of that, I bought the full application for a lifetime instead of just paying an annual subscription, because I believe in Pedro and that he will continue to do great work.
So, I decided to look at what else exists besides Readwise and found an application called Screvi. The application provides a generous 14-day trial period, and after using it for 14 days, I fell in love with it. First of all, the user interface is very clean. Second is the features. One of the most important features for me is that if I have an ebook, I can include it in my highlights. When I click on a highlight, it opens it directly in the book, which is very useful.
Another feature is the AI-generated summary, which is much better than in Readwise. When I asked Readwise to use my tokens for an AI-generated summary, they limited it to only 1,000 characters. I couldn't believe that, and when I contacted them, they refused to change that limit. That is not the case with Screvi; their AI-generated summary is so good that I didn't even need to connect to my own LLM model. Another feature is AI tagging, which allows me to tag my books or highlights by AI. That helps a lot.
But the biggest and most important thing is the support from Pedro, the owner of this application. He listens to and understands what is important and what needs to be implemented. I contacted him a number of times, and he was always responsive. Most of the features I suggested, if they made sense, he added to the application. Overall, the application is still growing and needs more implementation, but because of how clean it is and how nice and responsive Pedro is, I am very happy with it. Because of that, I bought the full application for a lifetime instead of just paying an annual subscription, because I believe in Pedro and that he will continue to do great work.
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Readwise killer
I used Readwise for almost four years, but at some point, I noticed that they started focusing on things that are less important to the user experience. For instance, transcripts included timestamps from any podcast or YouTube video, and when I contacted them to address that, they just ignored me. That is only one example; there are many more instances where I asked for changes that impacted the user experience, and they did not address them.
So, I decided to look at what else exists besides Readwise and found an application called Screvi. The application provides a generous 14-day trial period, and after using it for 14 days, I fell in love with it. First of all, the user interface is very clean. Second is the features. One of the most important features for me is that if I have an ebook, I can include it in my highlights. When I click on a highlight, it opens it directly in the book, which is very useful.
Another feature is the AI-generated summary, which is much better than in Readwise. When I asked Readwise to use my tokens for an AI-generated summary, they limited it to only 1,000 characters. I couldn't believe that, and when I contacted them, they refused to change that limit. That is not the case with Screvi; their AI-generated summary is so good that I didn't even need to connect to my own LLM model. Another feature is AI tagging, which allows me to tag my books or highlights by AI. That helps a lot.
But the biggest and most important thing is the support from Pedro, the owner of this application. He listens to and understands what is important and what needs to be implemented. I contacted him a number of times, and he was always responsive. Most of the features I suggested, if they made sense, he added to the application. Overall, the application is still growing and needs more implementation, but because of how clean it is and how nice and responsive Pedro is, I am very happy with it. Because of that, I bought the full application for a lifetime instead of just paying an annual subscription, because I believe in Pedro and that he will continue to do great work.
So, I decided to look at what else exists besides Readwise and found an application called Screvi. The application provides a generous 14-day trial period, and after using it for 14 days, I fell in love with it. First of all, the user interface is very clean. Second is the features. One of the most important features for me is that if I have an ebook, I can include it in my highlights. When I click on a highlight, it opens it directly in the book, which is very useful.
Another feature is the AI-generated summary, which is much better than in Readwise. When I asked Readwise to use my tokens for an AI-generated summary, they limited it to only 1,000 characters. I couldn't believe that, and when I contacted them, they refused to change that limit. That is not the case with Screvi; their AI-generated summary is so good that I didn't even need to connect to my own LLM model. Another feature is AI tagging, which allows me to tag my books or highlights by AI. That helps a lot.
But the biggest and most important thing is the support from Pedro, the owner of this application. He listens to and understands what is important and what needs to be implemented. I contacted him a number of times, and he was always responsive. Most of the features I suggested, if they made sense, he added to the application. Overall, the application is still growing and needs more implementation, but because of how clean it is and how nice and responsive Pedro is, I am very happy with it. Because of that, I bought the full application for a lifetime instead of just paying an annual subscription, because I believe in Pedro and that he will continue to do great work.
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Best app
I like this app
Continues improvement
Nice app! Beautifully designed. Continuous improvement on the language searching! Keep it going, Pedro!
So easy to use and incredibly useful!
Being able to link Goodreads is clutch.
I have notes, photos, dog-ears, post-its all over the place and this is the coolest way to organize everything and access it later.
Also makes it super easy to share quotes on social media.
I have notes, photos, dog-ears, post-its all over the place and this is the coolest way to organize everything and access it later.
Also makes it super easy to share quotes on social media.
What I’ve Been Missing
Screvi is the app I’ve been missing for years. I read dozens of articles each week and have previously used a combination of an RSS reader and a Read It Later app. But I wasn’t incentivized to highlight because my highlights would effectively disappear into the ether.
With the new version of Screvi that includes an article reader, I’ve been able to ditch my Read It Later app completely. Even better, highlighting in Screvi immediately adds what I’ve saved to a feed and a daily review that I can revisit. I’ve been using Screvi daily and would recommend it to anyone.
With the new version of Screvi that includes an article reader, I’ve been able to ditch my Read It Later app completely. Even better, highlighting in Screvi immediately adds what I’ve saved to a feed and a daily review that I can revisit. I’ve been using Screvi daily and would recommend it to anyone.
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Might be a Readwise replacement one day, but not today
Subscribed and immediately had buyers remorse. No dark mode. No widgets. No streaks.
I don’t really understand the function of the stories-like UX or the swipe right or left action on your highlights without any clarification in the design what your swipes will do. There’s no way to adjust the frequency of resurfacing highlights once you’ve “swiped” it.
And unfortunately the app just doesn’t perform well. Scrolling on the home feed gives you about ten of your most recent highlights and then just repeats them over and over as you scroll.
I don’t really understand the function of the stories-like UX or the swipe right or left action on your highlights without any clarification in the design what your swipes will do. There’s no way to adjust the frequency of resurfacing highlights once you’ve “swiped” it.
And unfortunately the app just doesn’t perform well. Scrolling on the home feed gives you about ten of your most recent highlights and then just repeats them over and over as you scroll.
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Better Every Day
Screvi is an incredible app that has completely changed how I read. Ever since the article reader was added, it's become my primary "read later" tool. The ability to highlight as I read is great, but the real magic is how those highlights are automatically fed into a spaced repetition system. This is a game-changer that very few other apps offer. I am also very impressed by the developer’s responsiveness. I've sent them multiple bug reports and enhancement requests and have seen solutions rolled out in the very next release. This level of support is rare and makes me a happy customer. I highly recommend Screvi for anyone who wants to get more out of what they read.
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Love it so much!
Screvi is a great app. The UI is very pleasant and the developer is very responsive. Keep up the good work!
Amazing!
Always have been looking for an AI based search for important notes from my books. This is easy to use and exactly what I wanted. The text highlight from a picture is really good too.
Best app for saving highlights from books and articles.
I like to take notes when I read something. Have tried various apps - Bear, Obsidian, Notion etc as well as the conventional approach of jotting down notes in a journal.
Two big challenge with all of these approaches :
1) They are not specifically built for taking notes from books and hence becomes a dumping ground for various kind of notes, eventually making it difficult to take notes when the novelty wears off
2) Discovering something you noted down long back is an issue.
This is where this app shines. The feed-approach of showing your highlights from various sources makes it easier to recall your highlights. With all other apps adding the highlights was like storing things in an attic - you keep putting things there but you hardly ever use it.
The app also makes it easier to add highlights from various sources - select a book from the dropdown and type your highlight, or take a photo of a page you are reading and select the section you want to save, or import from Kindle. You can also add any random thoughts in a section titled Personal Notes.
I have been using it for past few days and in love with it.
Two big challenge with all of these approaches :
1) They are not specifically built for taking notes from books and hence becomes a dumping ground for various kind of notes, eventually making it difficult to take notes when the novelty wears off
2) Discovering something you noted down long back is an issue.
This is where this app shines. The feed-approach of showing your highlights from various sources makes it easier to recall your highlights. With all other apps adding the highlights was like storing things in an attic - you keep putting things there but you hardly ever use it.
The app also makes it easier to add highlights from various sources - select a book from the dropdown and type your highlight, or take a photo of a page you are reading and select the section you want to save, or import from Kindle. You can also add any random thoughts in a section titled Personal Notes.
I have been using it for past few days and in love with it.
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