Mozilla-owned read-it-later app Pocket unveiled several new features across platforms, including rolling out the redesigned app to iOS and better article-jumping features for Android. However, the standout feature of this release is the ability to create lists of articles.
Pocket said it will now let users add articles to their own lists — think of them as playlists but for stories. At launch, the feature will be available only on the web for U.S.-based users. Global rollout should occur next month. The company also said that it is working on bringing the ability to create lists to mobile later this year.
While users will be able to create multiple lists and give them titles and descriptions, they won’t be able to share them, as they are private lists. However, the company said it is working on a feature that will let you share lists.
Image Credits: Pocket
Pocket has had tags for organizing content, the company believes lists are easier to manage.
“The new Pocket Lists feature will offer users a more intuitive way to organize their content, and unlike tags, which can sometimes be difficult to manage, Pocket Lists provide a more structured approach to categorizing content,” Pocket’s head of product management Kait Gaiss, said in a statement.
Apart from rolling out the list feature, Pocket has redesigned its iOS app. Most noticeably, the company has changed the home screen with sections like “Recent Saves,” “Editors’ picks,” “Ten minutes or less” and “Long reads worth the time.” Until now, the Pocket iOS app had a separate tab for article discovery. With the new update, that’s being merged into the Home tab.
The iOS redesign also brings things like better search, a simplified settings screen and a swipe-to-archive feature. The company also mentioned that going forward it is aiming for a two-week update cycle for the iOS app to release features like better recommendations, the ability to create highlights on saved articles and improved listening experience.
Image Credits: Pocket
Additionally, Pocket is updating its Android app with a better reading experience on tablets and previous-next buttons in the Article View to easily navigate between stories. Plus, the app now saves your login info for websites — through the Android custom tabs feature — so you don’t need to log in every time you read a story on those sites.
Earlier this year, Pocket rolled out a new tab design on Android and renamed “My List” to “Saves.” Last year, the app was a part of Google’s “Best Apps of 2022” list. The app also serves 8.8 billion reading recommendations per month through Firefox’s new tab feature.