Four Improvements to Our App, Designed for Your Eyes Only

The latest Medium app updates and design changes help you focus on the words

The Medium app is designed for people who love to read. Period. And that means our team is constantly working on ways to improve the way you experience stories on the app (on iOS and Android), whether it’s on your morning commute or cozied up in bed at the end of the day.

We always appreciate when readers tell us which features they love and which could use some polish, so we’ve made a few important updates over the past month to help you focus on the story — and not so much the screen.

For your eyes only: adjust type size, brightness, and night mode

Stories on Medium should challenge your mind, not your eyes. Now, when you’re reading a story, you can easily change text size and screen brightness. Or turn on night mode to prevent eye strain at all hours.

The new night mode (left) offers a new color palette for the app experience. Hit the AA button (right) when reading any story on the app to change the text size, adjust brightness, or toggle night mode. These display settings are available on all iOS devices and are rolling out to Android devices today.

Read the best of Medium: featured stories front and center

There are millions of stories on Medium, so we want to make it easy for you to find great ideas every time you visit. So now when you open the app, the first thing you’ll see are freshly curated stories, hand-picked by our editorial team.

The carousel at the top of the app will show you the stories our editors are featuring on Medium now. If you scroll down your homescreen, you’ll find carousels for “New from your Network” (recent stories from authors and publications you follow) and “Popular on Medium” (recent stories that readers are loving), too.

Need a reading break? Never lose your place

Ever get deep into a story when all of a sudden you have to take a call, head to a meeting, or otherwise hit pause on reading? With this new app update, we’ll remember where you left off so you can pick up right there the next time you open the app.

If you didn’t finish reading a story last time you were in our app, the “Continue Reading” notification will give you an easy way to pick up right where you left off.

Big listener? Audio now has a home base

Members have been asking for a better way to browse and listen to the audio versions we produce for them. Now, there’s an entirely new section in the app dedicated to curated playlists of your favorite audio versions. If you’re looking for a great place to start, check out the Author Narrations playlist for stories read aloud by the writer or Unruly Bodies to hear our recent project with Roxane Gay.

On iOS, tap the headphone icon (pictured here) to browse audio playlists. On Android, select “Audio” from the menu bar.

We’re always working on ways to make the Medium app a word lover’s best friend. These updates are now available on both iOS and Android — just head to your local app store and download away. Thanks for reading.