Challenging "Looks Like a Proper Mac App"
Updated: Jan 30, 2021
Compare Reeder 5 to NetNewsWire 5. I prefer Reeder's design, and trying out NetNewsWire 5 after hearing all the praise I realized I don't like AppKit standard components. For me, there’s not enough whitespace and visually separates UI panels too strongly. “Mac-assed Mac apps” to me look like Bear and Reeder. They’ve taken the soul of a native Mac app but added crucial whitespace and simplified their icon and UI panel treatments. I’m not making any bold claims here that Reeder is a great design beyond just its looks. MacStories awarded Reeder 5 Best Design of the Year in 2020.
People are praising Net Newswire’s keyboard navigation, Reeder seems more robust. Reeder doesn’t sacrifice in this area, it improves upon it.
This is not to say I don't wish NetNewsWire to not exist, I'm ecstatic Brent brought it to the Mac as an open-source project. Appkit is good for providing UI components that can deliver a great app without customizing your UI. With the redesign of macOS Big Sur, this delta has decreased.
In the end, what's more important than Reeder's design? I believe it’s the health of RSS as a reading tool and the robust third-party Apple developer community. That’s one of the top reasons I adore all my Apple computers.
