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Guide - updated

How to read newsletters on iPhone

Read them in an app made for newsletters, not in your email app. Mail and Gmail show newsletters between messages that need a reply, and the Substack app only covers Substack. Readbase gives your newsletters their own address and an iPhone app to read them in: every newsletter arrives with an AI summary, downloads for offline reading, and Siri can read you the summary without opening the app. It is free, on iOS 18 or later.

Get your newsletter address
Newsletters on iPhone, in the app and out of it

In Readbase

9:41

Inbox

you@readbase.io

Offline, all downloaded

Stratechery9:34
  • Where fab capacity actually constrains AI hardware.
  • The margin case against vertical integration.
  • Why packaging, not chips, may be the next bottleneck.
Lenny's Newsletter9:21
  • A four-step discovery loop used at Figma and Airbnb.
  • Why most user interviews produce unusable answers.
  • The one question to ask before building anything.
Dense Discovery9:10
  • Five tools for calmer, more focused work.
  • A notes app that works without an account.
  • What a month without notifications changed for the editor.
Morning Brew9:02
  • Markets shrug off the jobs report; rates hold steady.
  • Three earnings surprises worth a glance before the open.
  • Why a quiet week for oil still moved airline stocks.
  • Every newsletter arrives summarised
  • Downloaded, so it works on a flight

On the Lock Screen

Tuesday 20 October

18:30

Summarize my latest Stratechery in Readbase

Readbase

Stratechery

  • Where fab capacity actually constrains AI hardware.
  • The margin case against vertical integration.
  • Why packaging, not chips, may be the next bottleneck.
  • Siri reads you the summary
  • No need to open the app

Where you can read newsletters on an iPhone

Most people read newsletters wherever they land, which on an iPhone usually means an email app. Each option works. They differ in what sits around the newsletter while you read it.

Apple Mail

Already on your phone, and fine for reading. Recent versions of iOS sort many newsletters into Updates or Promotions, and you can move a sender between categories, but the newsletters are still mail, one tab away from the mail you need to answer.

The Gmail app

Good at mail, plain at reading. The Promotions and Updates tabs catch some newsletters, filters can only be made in Gmail on the web, and every newsletter counts towards your Google storage.

The Substack app

A good reader for Substack, with comments and Notes alongside. It only shows newsletters published on Substack, so anything on Beehiiv, Ghost or a publisher's own site stays in your email.

Our pick

Readbase

A private @readbase.io address and an iPhone app built only for reading newsletters. Each one arrives with an AI summary, downloads automatically so it is there on a flight, and shows up in Spotlight. Bookmarks and 1-click unsubscribe are on the free plan, and the same inbox is on the web.

Get your newsletter address

How to set up Readbase on your iPhone

It takes about five minutes, most of it spent choosing which newsletters to bring.

  1. Download Readbase from the App Store. It needs iOS 18 or later.
  2. Sign in with your email. Readbase sends you a code, so there is no password to make up.
  3. Readbase gives you a private @readbase.io address during setup. Copy it.
  4. Subscribe to newsletters with that address, or pick a few from the list Readbase shows you during setup.
  5. For newsletters you already get, change your email on each one's preferences page, usually linked at the bottom of every email.
  6. If you want your summaries in Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian or German, choose the language in Settings.

What the iPhone app adds

Offline reading: new newsletters download as they arrive, so your inbox works on a plane or underground with no signal.

Siri: say "Summarize my latest Stratechery in Readbase" and Siri reads you the summary. "Mark everything from TLDR as read in Readbase" clears a subscription in one go. Every action is in the Shortcuts app too.

Spotlight: search for a newsletter from the Home Screen and it opens straight in Readbase.

A morning recap: a summary of everything unread, waiting when you wake up.

Questions people ask

The short answers are here. Ask anything else at the bottom, and we answer it from what is on this site.

What is the best app for reading newsletters on iPhone?

Readbase. It gives your newsletters their own @readbase.io address, summarises every newsletter as it arrives, and downloads them for offline reading, on the free plan. Other apps come with a catch: Meco charges for AI summaries and offline reading, Readwise Reader has no free plan once its trial ends, and Matter puts its newsletter inbox behind Premium.

Can I read newsletters offline on iPhone?

Yes. Readbase downloads every new newsletter to your iPhone as it arrives, so you can read on a flight or the underground without a connection.

Can Siri read my newsletters to me?

Siri can read you the summary. With Readbase, say "Summarize my latest Stratechery in Readbase", with the name of any newsletter you get, and Siri reads the AI summary without opening the app.

Do I need the app, or can I read in Safari?

Either. readbase.io works in Safari and any other browser, with the same inbox and summaries. The app adds offline reading, the morning recap, Siri and Spotlight.

More guides

Get your newsletters out of Gmail.

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