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FBReader 2.5 RC 1 is now available for macOS, Windows and Linux. Highlights include a redesigned library, integration with the Readino bookshop, and text-to-speech.

We started the FBReader 2.2 beta series more than a year ago. The release has taken longer than planned, and we have added many new features since those betas. To reflect these additions, we are releasing the update as version 2.5.

We believe this release candidate is ready for everyday use. We plan to publish the stable 2.5 release in the coming weeks, either unchanged or with a few final fixes.

Here are the main changes since the latest stable release, 2.1.5:

• Library and network catalogues
  • Redesigned library and book details pages
  • Multiple book selection and batch actions
  • Favourites and custom shelves, synchronised through the FBReader Book Network
  • More reliable Book Network connections and improved recovery from failed uploads
  • OPDS 2.0 support, including grouped catalogues, filters, account profiles, and sign-in via a browser or QR code
  • Readino bookshop integration, including purchases and saved books. Enabled by default in the US, the UK and Australia. In other countries, you can enable it in the network catalogue settings.
  • Borrowing from compatible online libraries
• Book reading
  • Audio and video playback in EPUB books
  • Reading aloud using an installed system text-to-speech engine
  • Support for CBR and CB7 comics, with improved metadata handling
  • Improved display of image-based, fixed-layout EPUB books
• Other improvements
  • Full keyboard navigation: all features can be accessed without a mouse
  • Experimental feature: bookmark export and import
  • Many smaller fixes and improvements

We've released the first public version of DinoReader, a new reading app designed for Android e-ink devices.

DinoReader is built on the FBReader reading engine, but includes features not currently available in the mainstream app:

• Completely new interface designed for modern e-ink devices
• Enhanced PDF support including LCP-protected PDFs and text-to-speech reading
• Support for OPDS 2.0 catalogues
• Direct integration with Readino bookshop
• Transparent synchronisation with FBReader Book Network
• Multi-book operations in the library

DinoReader is free. Learn more and download the new app on its own site.

August maintenance update focuses on compatibility improvements and a few visual refinements.

What’s new:

• Improved compatibility with Android 16+
• Added Wave and Reverse Wave page-turn animations, optimised for BOOX and Viwoods e-ink devices
• Improved the appearance on e-ink devices, including Mudita-specific launcher icon
• Improved footer spacing on devices with rounded screen corners

As always, the update also includes minor bug fixes and internal improvements.

Today we’re updating both the stable and beta tracks for Android, releasing versions 3.8.30 and 4.0 beta 122.

The main improvement is better ZIP archive support, making ePub and fb2.zip books more reliable to open. This fixes a number of issues, including missing covers in some books and missing sections of text in others.

Other changes include fixes for PDF and comics rendering, support for opening password-protected PDF documents in the beta version, improved handling of text-to-speech substitution patterns containing spaces in the stable release, and updated Ukrainian translations in both versions.

This update improves FBReader behaviour on InkBook devices. The app now correctly detects InkBook devices as e-ink readers. Additionally, we've updated the licence check flow. On InkBook devices, FBReader Premium can now be installed and used free of charge.

We've also fixed a few stability issues in cloud synchronisation.