Mozilla to discontinue Pocket for Mac, shifts focus to iOS app for Apple Silicon Macs

Mozilla has confirmed that its read-it-later app, Pocket, will discontinue its macOS application, Pocket for Mac, on August 15th. The Mac app will be replaced by the Pocket iOS app for Apple Silicon Macs, the new computer series launched in late 2020. After the retirement date, the Mac app will become non-functional.

Users with older Mac models will no longer have access to the dedicated native desktop app, but can continue to use Pocket via the website or on iPhones and iPads. Mozilla's goal with this change is to ensure a uniform experience across different platforms for users reading articles on laptops and mobile devices.

The decision follows Pocket's revamp earlier this year, which included enhancements to the Home tab and a renaming of "My List" to "Saves", in order to provide superior recommendations and facilitate content discovery. Other apps such as Instapaper (which recently received an update with enhanced organizing and sorting tools), Matter Reader, and Artifact are also competing in the read-it-later app market, with Artifact distinguishing itself by offering AI recommendations and new AI text-to-speech voices.

As part of the changes, Pocket has started moving users to Firefox accounts, and this will become mandatory by August 15, as Mozilla focuses on streamlining development and prioritizing its mobile app.