July 1, 2026
App-solutely causing a scene
Show HN: HackerNows – Native iOS HN Client
HN fans are swooning over this slick new iPhone app — and already begging for more
TLDR: HackerNows is a new free iPhone app for reading and posting on Hacker News, and early commenters are unusually impressed by how clean and easy it feels. The biggest reactions were praise, requests for larger text, and the instantly predictable Android question — a sign people already want this beyond iPhone.
A new iPhone app called HackerNows just marched into the Hacker News universe promising a smoother way to read stories, browse comments, vote, save posts, and even submit your own links — all with a clean look that tries to keep the old-school spirit alive. And the comment section? Instantly supportive, mildly demanding, and very on-brand. One user practically declared it love at first tap, calling it the first Hacker News app that "immediately clicks" for them, which in internet-comment terms is basically a standing ovation.
But this wasn’t just applause — it was applause with feature requests attached. The biggest opinion flying around was that the app feels polished enough to become people’s main way of reading Hacker News, which is a big deal for a crowd famously picky about design. At the same time, one of the first asks was for bigger text, because what good is a beautiful reading app if your eyeballs are fighting for their lives? Another mini-drama arrived right on schedule: "Any plans for android?" There it is, the eternal comment-section plot twist. Launch an iPhone app, and within seconds someone from Team Android is rattling the gates.
There was also a tiny flex that doubled as a live demo: one commenter casually noted their reply was posted using the app itself. Subtle? No. Effective? Absolutely. The mood overall is warm, hopeful, and a little needy: people like it, want to keep it, and immediately want more.
Key Points
- •HackerNows is presented as a free native iOS app for reading and interacting with Hacker News.
- •The app supports browsing Hacker News feeds including Top, New, Best, Ask, Show, and Jobs.
- •The article highlights threaded, collapsible comments, local comment storage for speed, and the ability to post comments and replies.
- •Users can sync activity, save stories into custom groups, and keep data synchronized across devices through iCloud.
- •The article lists Swift, SwiftUI, and GRDB as the technologies powering the app and notes that macOS support is coming soon.