Apple’s WWDC keynote this year brought a new feature called Safari Reading List. The feature works in iOS 5, as well as Lion, and enables readers to save articles for later that they don’t immediately have time to read, potentially competing with Instapaper. Instapaper’s developer speaks out.
Apple’s Safari Reading List feature might seem like a slap in the face to Marco Arment, developer if Instapaper, but surprisingly, Arment is neither bitter nor angry. Instead, Arment expresses excitement. Arment, on his blog, writes:
When iOS 5 and Lion ship, Apple will show a much larger percentage of iOS-device owners that saving web pages to read later is a useful workflow and can dramatically improve the way they read.
If Reading List gets widely adopted and millions of people start saving pages for later reading, a portion of those people will be interested in upgrading to a dedicated, deluxe app and service to serve their needs better. And they’ll quickly find Instapaper in the App Store.
This is an interesting take, but it’s actually one I agree with. Apple detailed several new features that pose a challenge for existing App Store apps and their developers, but rather than harm those developers, I am convinced that it will do nothing more than encourage them to become even more innovative, make their solutions that much better, and succeed in the long run.
What are your thoughts? Any Instapaper users out there going to be swayed by Safari Reading List?
