1271
Official FBReader news. New features and releases, third-party plugins, plans, tech details, etc. https://fbreader.org
FBReader 4.0 beta 89 for Android is now available.
This release introduces further enhancements to the themes. Additionally, the colour profile will automatically adapt to the system’s dark or light mode. If you prefer full control over the reader’s colours, you can turn off the option.
You may have noticed that since beta 86, we’ve stopped publishing beta updates on the Play Store. This is due to technical reasons, but we anticipate resuming our usual update schedule by Christmas. Around the same time, we plan to release the stable version 3.8, which includes all the latest features and fixes.
FBReader 4.0 beta 86 introduces several minor improvements:
📚 Quick chapter navigation buttons (visible in the first screenshot)
📚 Enhanced detection for Onyx devices
📚 Improved progress bar appearance in eInk mode (shown at the bottom of the second screenshot)
📚 An “👁” button in all password dialogues
FBReader 3.7.7 for Android
The October update addresses two issues related to PDFs. First, file type detection was failing for some files, preventing FBReader from opening certain PDFs. Additionally, a mix-up occurred between the table of contents for PDF and other file types, as reported by some users. This occasionally caused an incorrect table of contents to display when opening an ePub book after a PDF.
As always, this version also includes a few UI improvements.
FBReader 1.2 for iOS Now Available!
We’re excited to announce the release of FBReader 1.2 for iOS, featuring major improvements. To ensure a smooth experience, we’re rolling it out gradually and expect it to reach all users within the next seven days.
What’s New:
🍎 Full compatibility with iOS 18 and iPhone 16 devices
🍎 Support for Readium LCP (DRM-protected ePub files)
🍎 Upgraded rendering engine, now aligned with our apps on other platforms
🍎 Minor UI enhancements, with notable improvements to the night mode
🍎 Option to share anonymous usage data (you’ll be prompted for consent)
FBReader updates are back on the Snap Store!
After a pause of over a year since the release of version 2.0.5, we’re excited to announce that FBReader 2.1.2 is now available on the Snap Store. The update is currently on the beta channel and will be promoted to the stable later in October if no issues are found.
The update brings a lot of improvements including the Readium LCP support.
iOS version beta testing
FBReader 1.2 for iOS will be publicly released in the next few weeks.
Exclusively for the channel readers, we're offering a beta version for testing. To install the beta on your iPhone or iPad, please follow the link.
Please report any issues you find. This is your chance to make the upcoming release better.
What's new in this version:
🍎 Full compatibility with the iPhone 16 series and iOS 18.
🍎 We've updated the rendering engine to the latest version used in both the desktop and Android editions. This improves stability and fixes some common issues, such as image sizes.
🍎 Minor UI adjustments, particularly in dark mode, with some colour corrections.
🍎 Readium LCP support is being introduced. For now, only test books can be opened in this beta, not real ones. That is to be changed in the coming days.
What remains unchanged:
🍏 OPDS support is still missing; our apologies.
🍏 The read-aloud feature has not yet been added.
🍏 PDF support is still far away from the release.
Autumn Week Sale: Limited Time Offer!
🍁 Save 30% or more on Premium and Full Editions (discount varies by country and platform).
🍂 Available on Google Play
🍂 Available on Huawei AppGallery
🍂 Available on the App Store
Don't miss out — grab your discount this first week of autumn!
FBReader in the App Store Status Update
The journey to bring FBReader with encryption features to the App Store has finally reached its destination. Starting today, the latest version of the Mac app is available for installation both from our website and the App Store.
There's more exciting news: the iOS version with Readium LCP is now unfrozen, moving forward, and we're preparing to release it very soon.
FBReader 2.1 for Mac/Windows/Linux
Today, we are excited to announce a major update for desktop platforms. FBReader 2.1 is officially out!
The main highlight of this new version is the support for Readium LCP, enabling FBReader to open DRM-protected books. Other enhancements include:
📚 Optional Network Passwords Saving: Save network passwords securely in the system storage.
📚 Optional Usage Statistics Collection: A consent dialogue will appear, allowing you to opt in or out.
📚 Bookmarks Text Editing: Edit the text of your bookmarks to add your thoughts.
📚 Slovenian Localisation: FBReader is now available in Slovenian.
📚 Minor Fixes: Various small improvements and bug fixes.
The packages for all three operating systems are available for download from our site. Windows users can also install the update from the Windows Store. The Mac version will appear in the App Store as soon as it passes the Apple review procedure.
A new Android 4.0 beta 75 offers several enhancements for eInk device users.
This update improves usability on eInk devices by reducing the number of visual effects. The Moaan InkPalm Plus device is now automatically recognized as an eInk reader, simplifying setup for users of this device.
Additionally, we have resolved issues with multi-book archives. We also addressed a bug in LCP-protected books support, making encrypted covers visible.
We value your feedback! Please share any comments or bug reports with us.
FBReader 3.7.1 for Android
The first minor update in the 3.7 series is now being rolled out to users.
This version adds Slovenian localisation (many thanks to Andrej Kralj), including interface translation and hyphenation patterns.
Another change is reducing the network connection timeout (the time it takes to make an initial connection to a server) to two seconds. This makes the application more responsive but might cause false connection errors.
The catalogue of popular scientific books in Russian has been removed since the ВсеНаука project is permanently down.
We fixed several vendor-specific issues, such as crashes during app startup on Honor devices.
The stable series 3.7 for Android launches today
The new major update, version 3.7 for Android, is now beginning to roll out to users. Today, we are excited to introduce 3.7 RC 1, the first release candidate.
This version is available to select Google Play customers and will gradually expand its availability until it is finalized as version 3.7 or succeeded by the next release candidate. Those eager to update immediately welcome to our website.
Key enhancements in this release are:
📚 Readium LCP support
📚 Full update to the Ukrainian 🇺🇦 interface, with all strings now fully translated
One more Android update, 3.6.6, is out today.
This version fixes a few crashes and possible freezes.
Additionally, we release a separate Premium package for a rare issue. If the app crashes when starting on your device, please try the special version available on the packages page. The crash happens in the third-party PDF library and is out of our control. Unfortunately, the library authors no longer support their product. Sooner or later, we will switch to another PDF library. However, this will take time.
Released FBReader 3.6.2 for Android
The maintenance update
📚 Fixes the Google Translate issues recently reported by users
📚 Tweaks the library UI
📚 Improves the app stability
FBReader 3.6.* series for Android has started
The highlight of the new series is stability. In the first release, 3.6.0:
📚 The cards view in the library is back. Please note that you can change the cards size in the settings.
📚 Zip-archives reading now works via the libzip library. It opens more books and is more stable than the old code.
📚 The Huawei license check is fixed.
📚 The target API raises to 34 (Android 14).
Synchronously, we are releasing a new version of the SDK, 1.2.2, on which FBReader 3.6.0 is built.
4.0 beta 87 for Android is out. In the changelog:
📚 Chapter navigation buttons for PDFs
📚 PDF navigation panel thumbnails can be hidden from now
📚 New option: invert images in dark mode
📚 Reading aloud improvement: added support for loading custom list of text substitutions
📚 The beta UI themes are changed
Simultaneously, we are releasing a new beta (4.0 beta 85)
Alongside the changes introduced in the stable 3.7.7 release, this beta continues to add new e-ink-related features:
📚 Theme selection dialogue at app start-up.
📚 A dedicated e-ink style for the library view.
📚 Numerous minor improvements to the e-ink theme throughout the app.
FBReader 4.0 beta 83 is out
This version introduces significant improvements to the display on eInk screens. The decoration theme is now consistently white on eInk displays, with clearer dialogues and buttons, along with other enhancements.
A new option, “The screen is eInk,” has been added to the Appearance section in Settings. This allows you to force the eInk theme, even when using a smartphone.
eInk support is set to be a key feature of the upcoming stable release 3.8. If you encounter any issues with eInk functionality, please report them.
FBReader 2.1.2 for Linux/ARM.
Please download the AppImage from our site. The build was created on Fedora 38 and is expected to run on distributions released since April 2023. We have tested it on a Raspberry Pi 400, but it should work on other ARM-based devices as well.
FBReader 2.1.2 for Windows, Mac, and Linux
The September update improves the rendering engine, which now correctly applies image sizes defined in CSS for better image display and formatting. It also makes error messages clearer and more consistent. Additionally, several security enhancements have been made to the cloud authentication process.
FBReader 3.7.6 for Android
The September update brings minor bug fixes and enhances the overall user experience.
📚 The pan gesture in image browsing mode, broken in version 3.7.5, has been restored.
📚 The app scales images to fit within the page boundaries, which was also broken in 3.7.5.
📚 Night mode now displays CSS-defined colours accurately.
📚 FBReader can now open books directly from Gmail attachments.
📚 The selection popup appears closer to the highlighted text for improved usability.
FBReader 3.7.5 for Android
The August update focuses on enhancing book content rendering.
FBReader for Android now supports the SVG image format, bringing it in line with the iOS and desktop versions. Additionally, we’ve made minor improvements in CSS processing, primarily addressing image sizes and text colours.
FBReader 2.1.1 for Mac/Windows/Linux
A month after launching the 2.1 series, we release the first minor update for all three desktop platforms. In this update:
📚 We’ve added two new interface translations – 🇧🇬 Bulgarian and 🇪🇸 Spanish – based on the languages popularity among our users.
📚 The library window has been slightly redesigned to fix a few bugs and to make the covers look a bit brighter.
📚 Image background adjustments in reading mode have been clarified: the darkening and lightening effects now depend on the background colour rather than the application theme.
📚 LCPL file detection has been improved to work even when the file has a wrong extension.
P.S. Mac and Linux packages are only downloadable from our site. We are still awaiting the App Store approval, and the Snap package has not yet been built.
FBReader 3.7.3 for Android
The July monthly update for the stable version is out. In this release:
📚 Library View Enhancements: The library now displays covers for LCP-protected books, even if these covers are encrypted.
📚 Multi-Book Archives Fix: The app once again adds all books from the archives.
📚 Optional Usage Statistics Collection: To help us improve the app, we’ve introduced an optional feature for collecting usage statistics. A consent dialogue will appear, allowing you to opt in or out.
📚 PDF Enhancements: We’ve migrated to a newer version of the Radaee library and fixed several issues in our code. Hopefully, the special build “with older PDF library” is no longer necessary, but we will keep it on the site as a backup.
📚 User Interface Tweaks: Minor adjustments have been made to the user interface, particularly improving the horizontal reading mode for a cleaner look.
New packages are available for download on the stores and from our site. Update your app now to enjoy these improvements!
FBReader 2.1β4 for Mac, Windows, and Linux
The desktop version is approaching the release date. In this update
📚 We've fixed issues with some protected ePubs
📚 We've added Slovenian localisation, thanks to the efforts of Andrej Kralj
📚 To help us improve the app, we've added an optional statistics collection feature. The app will request your consent before collecting any data.
3.7.0 for Android is officially released!
It is available to all users on Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, and our site.
Additionally, we are publishing a blog post about Readium LCP. The second part, a practical guide, is coming soon.
FBReader has adopted Readium LCP
Readium LCP, a DRM technology designed by the Readium Foundation for ePub books, is gaining popularity. We are happy to announce that FBReader has joined the community, received certification from EDRLab, and can open protected books.
We have launched beta versions that support Readium LCP on Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms. The betas are available for free download on our website. The final releases featuring the new functionality are scheduled for May.
The iOS version is slightly behind; we expect to update it in June.
Additionally, we are working to include the LCP support in FBReader SDK. It is also scheduled for release in June.
A note for our Linux customers
It is uncertain whether we can promptly release the snap version of FBReader with new features. In our commitment to a synchronous release across all desktop platforms, we’ve assembled an AppImage. We will rethink our packaging strategy and decide which packages to build for the upcoming 2.1 release.
FBReader 3.6.4 for Android
One more update in stable series 3.6 is on the way. It is already downloadable from our site and scheduled for a gradual rollout from the stores.
The update meets Google Play’s requirements about background processes: each process must show a notification. Surely, you can disable annoying notifications.
Another improvement is stability, especially in the library scanning process. We expect fewer issues with “lost” books in the library view.
FBReader 2.1β1 is out
The first public beta of the upcoming FBReader 2.1 for Windows and Mac is available for download from our site.
In this release:
📚 Added network password saving (in secure system storage)
📚 Added bookmark text editing
📚 Fixed many bugs (and added some new ones, as usual)
📚 The app migrated to Qt 6.6.2
More new features of the 2.1 series are to be announced next month.
FBReader 4.0 beta 63 for Android
is uploaded to our site and the Google Play. The update brings
📚 A new old view in the library: the cards mode is back. Please note that it is configurable; you can choose the card size in the settings.
📚 The list view in the library shows authors for each book by default; you can return to the old behaviour in the settings.
📚 Minor internal fixes that should increase the stability of the app.