Strobe vs BookShelf Reader

Speed read your own books and documents, one word at a time, or listen as a natural voice reads along. No ads, no subscription, no account. Strobe is a speed reading app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It uses Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP): each word appears in the same spot on screen, so your eyes stay still instead of scanning across lines. Import a PDF, EPUB, plain-text, or Markdown file, share an article from Safari, or paste text, then read at 100 to 1,000 words per minute. HOLD TO READ • Press and hold to read. Let go to pause. • Slide up or down while you read to change speed without losing your place. • Swipe sideways while paused to step word by word. • Touch with two fingers to keep reading after you let go, or switch to tap to play. READ ALOUD • A natural voice reads along as the words show, at up to 450 words per minute. • Choose from 15 English voices, American and British. • The voice downloads once and runs on your device, even offline. • Keep listening with the screen locked, and play or pause from the Lock Screen or headphones (iOS 27 or later, and Mac). TIMING THAT FOLLOWS THE TEXT • The speed you set is your real speed, with every pause and slowdown counted. • Smart Timing keeps longer words on screen a little longer. • Punctuation Pauses slow down at sentence ends, commas, dashes, ellipses, and closing quotes, and you set the length of each. • Complexity Timing speeds up simple words and slows down complex ones, each by as much as you choose. • Acronyms and hyphenated words get extra time automatically. • Blank After Sentences adds an optional moment of empty screen between sentences. A FIXED POINT FOR YOUR EYES • Each word lines up on a highlighted focus letter, its Optimal Recognition Point (ORP), in red or one of six other colors. • Show the previous word, the next word, or both, as faintly as you like. • An open quote or parenthesis stays faintly above the word until it closes. • Pop Words In springs each word in, like video captions. YOUR LIBRARY • Every document gets a cover, and Continue Reading takes you back to your exact word. • EPUB tables of contents and PDF bookmarks become chapters, each with its reading time at your speed. • Open the full text with your place highlighted, search for any word or phrase, and tap a word to resume from there. • Page numbers, running headers, and footers are removed on import. • Chinese, Japanese, and Korean text is split into words, and Arabic keeps its connected letterforms. • iCloud Sync keeps your library, places, and speeds the same on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. • Statistics show your time and words read, average session, and real speed. BEYOND THE APP • Share articles and links from Safari and other apps straight into your library. • A Continue Reading widget for your Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Mac desktop. • Siri and Shortcuts can continue reading, open a document, tell you your progress, or speed read any text. MAKE IT YOURS • Seven fonts, adjustable text size, four text tones, and seven highlight colors. • A true black background for OLED screens and reading in the dark. • Every document remembers its own speed. • Keyboard shortcuts on Mac and iPad: Space to read, arrow keys to step, ⌘N for new text, ⌘O to import. • Works with VoiceOver, Larger Text, and Reduce Motion. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Strobe has no account, ads, analytics, or tracking. Your documents stay on your device, and with iCloud Sync, in your own private iCloud, encrypted. The voice runs on your device, so no text is sent away to be read aloud. FREE AND OPEN SOURCE Strobe is free, with no subscription or in-app purchases. The source code is public on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license. Strobe can't import DRM-protected EPUBs or password-protected PDFs. Reading aloud is for English text, on every Mac and on iPhone and iPad models with 4 GB of memory or more.

BookShelf is a clean, distraction-free PDF reader built for people who love books. Import your files, track your reading, and organize your library exactly the way you want — with no ads, no subscriptions, and no accounts required. READ YOUR WAY Scroll vertically or flip pages horizontally like a real book. Adjust brightness and switch between clean white and warm sepia mode. Every reading preference, covered. YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR RULES View your books as a grid or a list. Sort by title, last read, or progress. Build custom reading lists — To Read, Reading, Finished — and organize everything with categories and favorites. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS See how many pages you've read, time spent reading, your current streak, and your 30-day reading chart. Stats that keep you motivated without getting in the way. BOOKMARKS & ANNOTATIONS Mark any page with a bookmark and write notes as you read. All your annotations are organized and easy to find when you need them. WORKS OFFLINE. ALWAYS. BookShelf works 100% offline. No internet connection required to read, organize, or track your progress. OPTIONAL CLOUD SYNC Sign in with Google to optionally sync your library, progress, bookmarks, and notes across all your devices. Your PDFs are backed up securely. Turn it off anytime — your data stays on your device. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No ads. No trackers. No analytics SDKs. No behavioral data collection of any kind. If you never sign in, absolutely nothing leaves your device. AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH Full app interface in both languages. Switch anytime from Settings. WHAT YOU GET • Grid and list library views • Horizontal page-flip and vertical scroll reading modes • Warm sepia and brightness controls • Bookmarks and text annotations • Custom reading lists and categories • Reading statistics and daily streaks • 30-day reading progress chart • Optional cloud sync across devices • PDF file backup and restore • Dark mode support • English and Spanish interface • No ads, no subscriptions, no tracking BookShelf is made for readers who want a simple, beautiful app that respects their time and privacy.