What to Consider in a Quality Read-It-Later App

Before diving into our reasons for selecting Omnivore, let’s first outline what constitutes a great read-it-later service.

• The app should facilitate easy article importing. Therefore, it should support browser extensions and sharing options.
• It must effectively parse articles to ensure no content is lost during import.
• Managing articles should be straightforward.
• Users should have the ability to highlight text and jot down notes.
• If the app integrates seamlessly with third-party note-taking applications like Logseq and Obsidian, that’s an added benefit.

By the conclusion of this article, you’ll understand how Omnivore fulfills all these requirements while also providing additional features that make it one of the finest read-it-later apps available.

Omnivore User Interface

Omnivore boasts a sleek and user-friendly interface. Upon signing up and launching the app for the first time, you will be greeted by an intuitive layout. One feature I appreciate is the sidebar, which replaces traditional folders with customizable saved searches. When you open the app, you are directed to the Inbox containing all your imported articles.

Beneath the Inbox, you'll find the Continue Reading saved search that contains all the articles you've started but not yet finished. Additional categories include non-feed items, highlights, Unlabeled, and more. As mentioned, users can edit and customize these saved searches.

You can adjust these by selecting the Edit Saved Searches option. Here, adding or removing saved searches is a breeze. Creating a saved search is straightforward; you can filter by labels, reading status, type, archive status, publication date, and more.

For instance, I can easily set up a filter for articles labeled as productivity to view all related entries.

You can click on the (i) icon to get more information about filtering and creating saved searches. If you’d like a detailed guide on this feature, let us know, and we can create one.

Importing Articles in Seconds

Omnivore simplifies the process of importing articles. It provides extensions for major browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. No matter which browser you prefer, you can utilize the extension to save articles for later reading.

I particularly enjoy that when you use the extension to add an article to your Omnivore library, you can include notes and tags. This allows you to categorize the article appropriately and remind yourself of the reason you saved it.

The three-dot menu provides additional options, such as editing the title of the article. I also appreciate the quick Read Now feature, which opens the article in Omnivore for immediate reading in a distraction-free format.

Importing articles on an iPhone is equally effortless. Simply tap the share button in your browser and select the Omnivore icon. Just like on desktop, you can add notes and tags before saving the article.

Reading Environment in Omnivore

Omnivore provides a clean reading interface, and I truly enjoy reading articles within the app. You can customize your reading environment by clicking the TT button, which allows you to adjust font style, size, margin, line spacing, and themes.

Additionally, the Advanced Settings option enables you to justify text and activate high-contrast settings for improved readability.

On the left side, you’ll find a couple of buttons. The first allows you to assign labels, which function like tags to help organize your articles.

Next is the Notebook button, providing quick access to all your highlights and notes made while reading. You can also add notes directly from this section. I love that Omnivore allows labels on highlights, making it easy to filter out key quotes and important information.

The (i) icon allows for editing of the title, publication date, author name, and article description. This is especially helpful if the imported article does not display the correct metadata.

You will also find delete and archive options that function as expected.

Adding PDFs to Omnivore

Omnivore enables users to import PDF files into the application. It features a basic PDF reader that allows for reading, highlighting, labeling, and note-taking. While it may not have the extensive features of dedicated PDF readers, it fulfills the essential needs of most users.

Subscribe to the Newsletter to Get Them in Your Feed

One of my favorite aspects of Omnivore is the ability to subscribe to newsletter feeds using unique email addresses that can be created for this purpose. To obtain your email address, click on your profile icon and access the Emails settings.

Click on the Create a new email address button to generate a new email. You can use this email to sign up for newsletters, enabling them to appear directly in your feed.

Since multiple email addresses can be created, you can utilize different ones for various newsletters. If a newsletter becomes bothersome, simply delete the corresponding email address to stop receiving it.

Omnivore Handy Features

Universal Command Bar and Keyboard Navigation

Omnivore includes a universal command bar, accessible via the ?K keyboard shortcut on Mac. This feature allows for quick searches of saved searches and theme changes within the app.

When reading an article, it displays options for adjusting the reading environment, such as font size and margin width, and even opening the original article.

I believe this feature is underutilized, as it does not allow for article searching. For that purpose, the main search bar at the top is required. I mostly use the command bar to remind myself of forgotten keyboard shortcuts, as it provides the shortcuts next to each command.

Text-to-Speech

One of my favorite features in the Omnivore mobile app is the text-to-speech function, which enables me to listen to articles. There are times when I prefer listening over reading, and this feature is incredibly useful.

It’s the best text-to-speech reader I’ve encountered, with voice quality surpassing many paid alternatives. On your iPhone, simply tap the play button to start the article, and you have controls for playback and voice selection.

Numerous voice options are available, all of which are impressive. You can activate Ultra Realistic Voices for more lifelike audio, and there are even newer voices in the main library that are quite exceptional.

Feel free to test the voices to see which ones you prefer. A demonstration can be found in the video below.

Integration with Note-Taking Apps

I appreciate that Omnivore integrates seamlessly with popular note-taking applications such as Logseq and Obsidian. All that’s required is to install the plugin and input the API key.

This process is straightforward, and we’ve covered this integration in our guides on Logseq and Obsidian plugins, which you can access through the provided links. These integrations are crucial, as they facilitate the transfer of acquired knowledge into your note-taking and personal knowledge management systems.

Omnivore also supports integrations with Webhooks, Pocket, and Readwise. However, I haven't tested these features, so I cannot comment on their reliability. If you give them a try, please share your experience in the comments.

Omnivore: The Best Read-It-Later App?

I have been utilizing Omnivore for over a year, and I consider it one of the best, if not the top, read-it-later applications available. Its parsing engine effectively removes unnecessary elements without sacrificing content, and its text-to-speech feature is unparalleled. While there are minor drawbacks (like the lack of article search in the command bar), for a free application, it is nothing short of outstanding.