So I took the bait and am using the rebooted Reeder app, and I like it.
The gist this time around is it turns various feeds into a primary scroll list, synched by timeline position across devices. Having used RSS for years, I worried I’d miss a particular blog, but the new habit is actually less stressful and more manageable than previous iterations of the app concept: just open and scroll. If you think you missed a blog, you can always go to it (and Reeder does seem to sync your position within those individual blog feeds), so you can double-check without the glaring unread count haunting you.
While it does take getting used to, I like its implementation of ideas. Sorted feeds for videos and audio, as well as bookmarks and read later features if you want them. Having one aggregate list for everything (called ‘Home’) isn’t so different from, say, NetNewsWire’s ‘aggregate ‘Unread’ view, which I usually used day to day, so the adjustment is minor. Additionally, you can filter out feeds from the Home view that update an inordinate amount daily (e.g., Political Wire), and so I’ve just been checking those manually. Not a big deal.
Overall, the app is marvelously polished for interaction and pleasurability, and if you can get over the opinionated changes that diverge from 20+ years of RSS reader design paradigms, it’s absolutely worth trying.