Instapaper updates iOS app with AirPlay support and more
The popular webclipper Instapaper updated its iOS app late last week with a number of new features that will ensure you'll never have forget to check out something you saw on the internet. First up is the addition of AirPlay support for Apple TV. Instapaper is already a solid way to save videos for future watching, but thanks to this iOS update Apple TV owners will no longer be stuck the brutal frustration of watching their clipped videos on a tiny phone screen.
If you find yourself having a hard a time reading particularly long articles on your phone's screen, and long for the smooth e-ink of your Kindle, Instapaper feels your pain. That's why the update also introduces the ability share Read Later articles directly to your Kindle. Sadly for free users, this feature is only available to premium subscribers.
Of course the company has made it easier than ever to sign yourself up for the paid version of the app. Version 5.1.5 finally adds the option to sign up for an auto-renewable subscription to Instapaper. Once you sign up the app will ask for your email, zip code; while this may rub some users the wrong way the developers have provided the following explanation on their blog.
Before purchasing the renewable subscription, you'll need to agree to share some personal information, including name, email address, and ZIP code. As per our privacy policy, we promise that we will neither access nor store this additional information. It is simply a requirement of the auto-renewable subscription process, likely due to the feature being available first for magazine and newspaper publishers. So if you subscribe, please don't be alarmed when you see it in the dialog box:
Also, auto-renewable subscriptions are managed directly through iTunes, and so you'll have to return to iTunes to unsubscribe (not that you'd ever want to!). To unsubscribe you go to iOS Settings » iTunes » Apple ID » Manage button under Subscriptions setting.
Support for back gestures via pagination have also been enabled, so if you use pagination you can now swipe left from the first page and then swipe right to return to your articles.
Finally the Instapaper Daily function has now been integrated into the Browse section, showing you the top article each day.
The update announcement blog also says the team is working on their most ambitious update since being acquired by Betaworks in April of last year. As for what surprises they have in store for us when it launches, we'll just have to wait and see.
You can find the updated version of Instapaper, as a free download, right now in the iTunes Store.
