Published

June 1, 2016

Written by

Chris Gonzales

Here at Tools & Toys, we are only too familiar with the hurdle of managing all the content we follow online. Whether we’re trying to read feeds, save stuff for later, or manage our favorite podcasts, we’ve tried just about every possible app in each respective category to get the job done.

Here are some of the best iPhone and iPad apps for handling all that content, along with links to all relevant reviews at our sister site, The Sweet Setup.

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Tweetbot 4 for Twitter. ($10)

Tweetbot 4 for Twitter. ($10)

For Reading Twitter: Tweetbot 4 »

Love it or hate it, Twitter is still the best place to stay on top of what’s happening in the world. Unfortunately, the company’s own app isn’t great, unless you’re really that interested in seeing sponsored tweets and Twitter polls.

We recommend using Tweetbot 4 instead. It’s fully-featured, looks great on iPhones and iPads, and brings a level of power and finesse to Twitter that other clients can’t match (except for Twitterrific 5, which you should check out if Tweetbot isn’t quite your thing).



Reeder 3 for RSS. ($5)

Reeder 3 for RSS. ($5)

For Reading RSS Feeds: Reeder 3 »

Despite years of claims that RSS and RSS readers are dead, we haven’t given up the ghost just yet. Call us old-fashioned, but having a place where we can stay on top of our blog subscriptions, and read them whenever we like (rather than struggling against the constant stream of Twitter), just feels good, man.

Reeder 3 has long been the standard for RSS readers on RSS. It’s fast, reliable, and easy on the eyes. It also works with a number of RSS sync services, including Feed Wrangler, Feedly, Feedbin, NewsBlur, and more. We particularly like the ability to set a swipe gesture on articles; for example, swipe left on an article to send it to Instapaper. No muss, no fuss.



Narwhal for Reddit. (Free, with $3 in-app upgrade to remove ads)

Narwhal for Reddit. (Free, with $3 in-app upgrade to remove ads)

For Browsing Reddit: Narwhal »

If you’re going to browse Reddit on iOS, we recommend Narwhal. It’s easy to navigate, the interface makes sense in every way, and it actually feels fun to use. It’s far and away the best Reddit client for iPhone and iPad.



Instapaper read-it-later app. (Free, with $1/month subscription tiers for [Instapaper Premium](https://www.instapaper.com/premium))

Instapaper read-it-later app. (Free, with $1/month subscription tiers for Instapaper Premium)

For Reading and Watching Stuff Later: Instapaper »

We don’t always have time to read every interesting-looking article the moment we discover it. That’s why we rely on Instapaper for iOS.

Send articles and videos there, organize them into folders if you like, and enjoy reading or watching them at your leisure, even offline. It’s like having your own personal newspaper. Instapaper’s reading experience is world-class, with a number of fonts, themes, and text-adjustment options to configure the way you like.



Pinner for Pinboard. ($5)

Pinner for Pinboard. ($5)

For Archiving Content to Pinboard: Pinner »

While you can archive content in Instapaper, a better way to save things you truly care about is to save them in the bookmarking service Pinboard.

Enable their archival upgrade on your account, and permanent copies of things you bookmark will be saved on Pinboard’s servers. That way, even if something you bookmarked disappears from the web, you’ve still got a copy of your own. (See our primer on Pinboard here.)

Pinner for Pinboard is our favorite Pinboard app for iOS, and that’s with some tough competition. It’s fast (both in terms of launch time and loading items), easy to use, and has the best reading experience of all the apps we’ve tried. With its iOS share sheet extension, you can save things to Pinboard from just about any other app, and it can even automatically fill some of a bookmark’s fields (title, description) for you.



Overcast podcast player. (Free, with $1/month [optional patronage](https://marco.org/2015/10/09/overcast2) tiers)

Overcast podcast player. (Free, with $1/month optional patronage tiers)

For Managing Podcasts: Overcast »

Podcasts have been a thing for many years, but are only now exploding into the kind of mainstream popularity they deserve. The best app for managing your favorite shows on iOS is Marco Arment’s Overcast.

Overcast’s “Smart Speed” feature saves you literally hours of extra listening time, despite being nigh-unnoticeable during playback. Its “Voice Boost” feature dynamically normalizes audio volume so it’s easier to listen even in noisy situations (while you’re driving, etc). You can download episodes for later listening, or if you’re in a hurry, simply stream them on the fly. Discovering new podcasts is also easy, thanks to built-in recommendations from Twitter friends and the “Most Recommended” section.