I read HN on my phone every day and never really settled on a reader, so I
wrote my own and finally tidied it up enough to put out
there.It's plain SwiftUI with no third-party dependencies. A few things I spent the
most time on:Comments are parsed and drawn as native text instead of being dumped into a web
view. Links, italics, quotes and code blocks behave like the rest of the OS,
text selection works, and threads collapse instantly. The whole comment tree
comes back from the Algolia API in a single request, which felt a lot nicer than
walking the Firebase API node by node.Accessibility. Nothing depends on color on its own, so
points, read state and selection all carry a shape or an icon too. VoiceOver
reads each story as one coherent element with proper actions, Dynamic Type and
Reduce Motion are respected, and there's a color-blind mode. The first-run setup
actually looks at your device's accessibility settings, switches on the matching
options, and tells you what it changed instead of making you hunt for them.Then the usual things you'd expect: Top/New/Best/Ask/Show/Jobs, search, saved
stories, read tracking, an in-app reader, light and dark, and a handful of
accent colors.It only talks to the public HN APIs, there's no account and nothing is tracked.
Source and screenshots are in the repo.I'd most like feedback on the comment rendering and the accessibility choices,
since those were the parts I cared about getting right. Happy to answer anything
about how it's put together.
Show HN: Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility
A highly accessible, privacy-focused native iOS Hacker News reader built with SwiftUI, emphasizing superior comment rendering, comprehensive accessibility features (color-blind mode, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver integration), and no third-party dependencies or tracking.
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AI Executive Synthesis
A highly accessible, privacy-focused native iOS Hacker News reader built with SwiftUI, emphasizing superior comment rendering, comprehensive accessibility features (color-blind mode, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver integration), and no third-party dependencies or tracking.
Ember targets a niche but dedicated user base: Hacker News readers on iOS who prioritize accessibility, privacy, and a native user experience. Its core differentiation lies in superior comment rendering, treating content as native text rather than web views, which enhances usability and accessibility features like text selection and thread collapsing. The comprehensive accessibility suite, including color-blind mode and deep VoiceOver integration, addresses a significant underserved market. Furthermore, the commitment to privacy—no accounts, no tracking, only public HN APIs—builds trust. While a consumer app, its focus on robust, native implementation and accessibility best practices sets a high standard, demonstrating that even niche applications can achieve market traction by meticulously addressing specific user pain points and ethical considerations.
Related Ecosystem & Alternatives
Discover adjacent products, open-source repositories, and developer tools sharing similar technical architecture.
Deep-Dive FAQs
What is Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility?
Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility is analyzed by our AI as: A highly accessible, privacy-focused native iOS Hacker News reader built with SwiftUI, emphasizing superior comment rendering, comprehensive accessibility features (color-blind mode, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver integration), and no third-party dependencies or tracking.. It focuses on Ember targets a niche but dedicated user base: Hacker News readers on iOS who prioritize accessibility, privacy, and a native user experience. Its ...
Where did Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility originate?
Data for Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility was aggregated directly from the Hacker News community ecosystem, representing raw developer and early-adopter sentiment.
When was Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility publicly launched?
The initial public indexing or launch date for Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility within our tracked developer communities was recorded on June 21, 2026.
How popular is Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility?
Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility has achieved measurable traction, logging over 90 traction score and facilitating 21 recorded discussions or engagements.
Which technical categories define Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility?
Based on metadata extraction, Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility is categorized under topics such as: native iOS, Hacker News reader, SwiftUI, no third-party dependencies.
Is Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility recognized by media or academic researchers?
Yes. It has been covered by media outlets like Github.com. This indicates the concept has reached a level of mainstream or scientific viability beyond just developer forums.
What are some commercial alternatives to Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility?
Our semantic intelligence engine identifies potential commercial alternatives in the SaaS space, such as YAGNI, which offers overlapping value propositions.
How does the creator describe Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility?
The original author or development team describes the product as follows: "I read HN on my phone every day and never really settled on a reader, so I
wrote my own and finally tidied it up enough to put out
there.It's plain SwiftUI with no third-party dependencies. A few t..."
Community Voice & Feedback
The information comes from HN; would there be a risk of copyright infringement if the product were listed on the App Store?
Looks great!It seems you’re nervous about getting permission to show what you made to the world from Apple.May I suggest you encourage people who want to use the app to get their own subscription and build and install it themselves, or consider AltStore/SideStore. Or go via TestFlight with your own monetization built in.No one should need permission to ship from a trillion dollar company.
One thing that would be useful in the readme is instructions on how to install the built app on a phone, for those of us who don’t do iOS development.
Could not find the appstore link, is it published there?
I've been using Octal on iOS and https://github.com/IronsideXXVI/Hacker-News on Mac that was showcased here 4 months ago.Got to give you kudos for the Accessibility enablement though - while some of it is baked-in support, it’s worth appreciating your work in whittling down whatever else can be supported.Here is a comparison for the two on Mac, if you're interested. https://gq6o9uxicyzuw8es6qxe78bnml9wc3re.pastehtml.dev/#core
HN is quite nice inside a desktop browser, but mobile browsers are a different story altogether. But even there, it fares slightly better than old.reddit.com. So looks like I should dust off that xcode.
I love to see an open source implementation.I’ve been using [Octal](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/octal-for-hacker-news/id130888...) for a while now but it’s not open source.Would you be opposed to a pull request adding login/posting support? I think the way it works in Octal is webview for login, snatching the cookies out of the webview, then using the same posting endpoints as the website with the cookie.
Looks great, do you plan on publishing to the AppStore?
Well done. As a colour blind person (and iOS developer) I am thrilled anytime an app doesn’t rely on colour cues alone. I’ve used Hack and Octal but I am going to give your app a try.
Discovery Source
Hacker News Aggregated via automated community intelligence tracking.
Tech Stack Dependencies
No direct open-source NPM package mentions detected in the product documentation.
Media Tractions & Mentions
Deep Research & Science
No direct peer-reviewed scientific literature matched with this product's architecture.
SaaS Metrics
Looks very good !