Summary
- Instapaper finally rolls out version 5.0 for Android, fixing multiple bugs and enhancing the overall user experience.
- Changes include a new article view with thumbnail images, estimated read times, and improved font sizes.
- Bugs like the transparent status bar in reader view and saving article description via share extension have been resolved.
If you subscribe to several publications or just do your best to keep up with the news, you may rely on an article-saving app. Options like Pocket and Instapaper allow you to store articles for later reading, even when you’re offline. However, developers don’t always refine these apps for different operating systems. This has been the case with Instapaper, which rolled out version 5.0 for iOS years ago, while Android has remained on v4.x since 2014. Now, an updated version of the app is finally making its way to greener pastures.
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Instapaper has announced in a blog post on its website that it has rolled out version 5.0 for Android. Not only do the developers say that they have fixed “longstanding issues” and bugs, but they have made several improvements — many of which enhance the overall user experience for Android device owners. That being said, many of these changes have existed on the desktop and iOS versions of Instapaper for years.
The list of articles you see within the app now includes a thumbnail image for a different viewing experience. Additionally, there is no longer a dotted progress indicator that appears as you’re reading — the developers have replaced it with more modern estimated read times. Font sizes and line heights have been increased to make reading easier on the eyes, and pagination animations can be disabled.
Several Instapaper bugs have been resolved
In addition to rolling out new features, developers have also worked out several bugs. For instance, the transparent status bar has been fixed on reader view, and full-screen transitions have been improved. Saving a link to Instapaper via the share extension will also now save the article description, rather than the actual URL. Finally, the “Share All Notes” feature now shares your additions in the order in which they appear in an article.
Instapaper has had a small subscription fee since debuting improvements as far back as 2014. However, many of its users have found the app to be worth the fee. Now, only time will tell if this update is enough to win over Android users who were left hanging.
