News Explorer

Spec sheet

What it does

News Explorer is an Apple-platform RSS and news reader that gathers feeds and synchronizes reading data across devices.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Privacy

Betamagic says it cannot access in-app data, which remains on the device or in the user's iCloud container.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Company

Betamagic describes itself as a small independent software company based in the Netherlands and identifies Elemans Software as the trademark owner.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Cloud synchronization

Feeds, folders, articles, read states and favorites synchronize through iCloud without a separate News Explorer account.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Comments

Comments can be read in-app for comment feeds and for YouTube, Reddit, Hacker News and many Open Web comment sources.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Company profile

Crunchbase lists Betamagic as a private, active Arnhem company with 1–10 employees developing Mac applications.Read 15 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com

Documentation and support

Betamagic publishes an extensive help page and FAQ and provides support by email and contact form.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Import and automation

OPML import/export, Safari feed sharing, Spotlight indexing, widgets and Shortcuts actions are supported.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com

Licence

MacUpdate categorizes the Mac software as shareware with one-time-purchase monetization rather than open-source software.Read 15 Oct 2026 · news-explorer.macupdate.com

Limit: Apple reviewers

Requested improvements include subfolders, richer annotation/export tools, keyword rules, text-to-speech and better notification controls.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com

Limit: independent review

The Marfa review notes that mobile lacks the Mac trial and presents mobile navigation in separate sections rather than a desktop-style layout.Read 15 Oct 2026 · en.blog.themarfa.name

Limit: MacPowerUsers discussion

A forum participant warns that large feed collections can cause slow updates because the app itself fetches feeds instead of using a hosted RSS service.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talk.macpowerusers.com

Limit: MacUpdate reviewers

MacUpdate identifies customization as the main area needing improvement.Read 15 Oct 2026 · news-explorer.macupdate.com

Limit: Setapp reviewers

A reviewer reported newly created folders were not immediately visible, and others requested an iPhone version within Setapp.Read 15 Oct 2026 · setapp.com

Local storage

A local account can keep feeds and articles on one device instead of, or alongside, iCloud storage.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Notable release

Betamagic announced News Explorer 2.0 on November 18, 2024, adding customizable filters, an Inspector panel, comments, notes, tags and local storage accounts.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Notes and tags

Articles can contain rich-text notes, highlights and custom tags that are synchronized through iCloud.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Praise: Apple reviewers

Reviewers repeatedly praise the smooth operation, clean interface, extensive appearance controls and reliable cross-device synchronization.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com

Praise: independent review

The Marfa review credits the app's folders, customizable themes, iCloud synchronization, favorites and quick feed setup.Read 15 Oct 2026 · en.blog.themarfa.name

Praise: MacUpdate reviewers

MacUpdate reviewers highlight performance, stability, broad controls, responsive support and reliable operation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · news-explorer.macupdate.com

Praise: Numeric Citizen review

Numeric Citizen found synchronization reliable, valued support for Twitter and YouTube sources, and praised the newspaper-like layout and Apple TV and Watch apps.Read 15 Oct 2026 · numericcitizen.me

Praise: Setapp reviewers

Setapp describes the app as simple, elegant and well synchronized with iCloud, while reviewers say they use it daily.Read 15 Oct 2026 · setapp.com

Prefilters

Feed-level prefilters exclude or include articles before downloading them, reducing unwanted downloads.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Rating on Apple App Store

4.7 out of 5 from 640 ratingsRead 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com

Rating on MacUpdate

4.8 out of 5 from 8 user ratesRead 15 Oct 2026 · news-explorer.macupdate.com

Rating on Setapp

96 out of 100 from 449 ratingsRead 15 Oct 2026 · setapp.com

Reader view

Multiple reader engines can retrieve full articles from the web and present them in a cleaner reading view.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Recent release

The App Store history lists version 2.2.12 in September 2026 with fixes for crashes, duplicate-feed OPML imports, Reddit search and Bluesky parsing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com

Service integrations limitation

The FAQ says News Explorer is standalone with iCloud sync and does not currently integrate with services such as Feedly, FreshRSS or Feedbin.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Sharing integrations

Built-in sharing supports Instapaper, Raindrop and Readwise, in addition to system email and messaging shares.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Smart filters

Users can build sidebar filters using fields such as title, content, author, tags and dates, with filters synchronized between devices.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Supported feeds

The app supports RSS, Atom, JSON, Reddit, Mastodon, YouTube and podcast feeds.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

System requirements

The current Mac store listing requires macOS 15.6 Sequoia or later, while the mobile edition requires iOS 18.0, watchOS 6.2 or tvOS 18.0.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Usage telemetry

Anonymous usage data may be shared when the Apple developer-sharing setting is enabled, and Setapp can report subscription-related usage.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Views and customization

The app provides timeline and slideshow views, multiple themes, adjustable fonts and customizable toolbars.Read 15 Oct 2026 · betamagic.nl

Plans and prices

Every News Explorer plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• RSS Reader Software#10 of 338.6