Evie Finch @ewie

Hey, so Flyleaf is actually kinda good?

This is a mini app review, in case you couldn’t tell from the tag that says “app review”.

Flyleaf is a “read it later” app whose main inspiration is Instapaper, an old read later app from 2008 (and probably the first one ever made). But it’s not just based on Instapaper, it’s based on the Instapaper from 2008. With pagination. The dev has stated that his main reason for making it is just that there’s nothing else out there that has Instapaper’s pagination feature, and Instapaper itself doesn’t even support it that well.

A screenshot of an article inside of Flyleaf

I quite like pagination (scrolling hurts my wrist and feels worse to read), so it was a no brainer for me to use. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s cheaper than the read later app I was using before (also, matter is integrating a bunch of ai features that get in the way of the reading part of a read later app. Really sucks but that’s what vc money gets you). I’m still using the old one too for the remaining length of the subscription, but I’m hoping that I won’t have to renew it.

A screenshot of flyleaf that showcases the sidebar

Anyways, here’s a comparison of the pros and cons because my brain is too tired to write a more detailed review.

Pros

  • Pagination (the big one!)
  • Pretty solid themes (they come second to Matter)
  • Doesn’t just show you the articles from oldest to newest. Instead shows you articles based on certain vibes (short reads, long reads, new, random). Really nice!
  • Multiple ways of organizing stuff
  • Made by an indie dev
  • Local first!

Cons

  • Made by an indie dev (I haven’t run into parsing issues yet, but I doubt one guy will be able to do a better job than companies like Readwise Reader, Pocket, Instapaper, Matter, etc. But who knows?)
  • Local first (you need to be able to download the article on your phone to read it. you can’t save stuff if you don’t have internet)
  • iOS/macOS only (sorry android people)
  • Has a subscription, although the subscription doesn’t stop you from reading things. It just affects themes and stuff.
  • Idk I think that’s it? I’ll update this if I have more problems I guess
The mobile app in dark mode The same screen as before but with the bottom drawer open, showcasing the remaining time left in the article, as well as some quick actions you can take.

So that’s Flyleaf! Check it out! I’m enjoying it at least!

  1. #App Review
  2. #I wrote this too late at night
  3. #But I gotta keep posting if you get what I mean

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Evie Finch @ewie

guys who are moving to blogs: you gotta make it easy to post

if you post a lot on cohost it’s almost certainly because you have it saved on your home screen and the work needed to make a new post is open the app and tap the compose button. you gotta make it just as easy to post on your own site! you’re not gonna use it as much if you don’t! it’s okay to spend way too much work up front ensuring the actual posting process is as seamless as possible, but it’s gotta be easy in the moment for you to go from dumb joke to posted dumb joke

  1. #if you’re on ios
  2. #shortcuts help a lot
  3. #you gotta post
  4. #blogs
  5. #cohost archive

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Evie Finch @ewie

with cohost shutting down i do wanna say since i wont feel as guilty about it now

i’m still actively looking for work. i have experience with front end dev, ui design, and have worked in the education sector. i’m good at building things up and breaking down concepts. you can find my work info at eviefinch.com under portfolio. idk it’d still be nice to add one more nice thing cohost has done for me at the end of it all, even though it’s already given me more than enough

  1. #looking for work
  2. #cohost archive

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