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Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility

Ember is a new, native SwiftUI application for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that provides a fast, accessible, and offline-capable reading experience for the Hacker News community.

Key Points

  • Built using pure SwiftUI with no third-party dependencies, targeting iOS 18 and macOS via Mac Catalyst.
  • Features native comment rendering, offline caching, full-text search, and a responsive three-pane layout for desktop and tablet.
  • Prioritizes accessibility with color-blind friendly cues, VoiceOver support, and automatic adaptation to system-wide settings like Dynamic Type.
  • Operates without user accounts or tracking, relying exclusively on the official Hacker News Firebase API and Algolia search API.
  • Includes a smart onboarding flow that automatically configures themes and accessibility settings based on the user's device environment.

Why it Matters

Ember offers a privacy-focused, high-performance alternative to web-based browsing for power users of the Hacker News platform. By leveraging native Apple frameworks and local-first data storage, the app provides a more stable and accessible interface for consuming technical discussions.
Github.com Published by DatanoiseTV
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