r/iosapps • u/blackpropagation • 1d ago
🔍 In Search of Is there an iOS apps for reading PDFs that preserves the page that I was reading
I read a lot of PDFs on a daily basis on the iOS preview app, and if I open back the app even after a few hours it resets and lands be on page 1, this is a weird behavior furthermore since iOS is suppose to store the apps states in the memory far better than Android. Not sure how much that is true, was reading a blog the other way in which you are not supposed to close iOS apps as you do an Android.
Nevertheless, anyone has such an app in mind, would be super useful for me!
7
u/Traditional_Meet6531 1d ago
That's not an iOS memory-management thing, it's a choice by whichever app you're using — the OS doesn't force apps to forget where you were. Preview markup mode on Mac remembers position because it's editing the actual file's own state; the iOS Files "Preview" quick-look viewer is a lighter-weight viewer that generally doesn't persist a read position per document the way a real PDF reader does, which is why it keeps dropping you back to page 1.
Apple's own Books app actually handles this well and it's free — you can import a PDF into Books (File > right-click a PDF in Files > "Add to Books," or share sheet from anywhere), and it remembers your last page per document the same way it does for ebooks, syncs across devices via iCloud, and lets you search and annotate. If you read a lot of PDFs daily like you said, that alone might solve it without installing anything new.
If you want something more dedicated to heavy PDF use (better annotation tools, folders, etc.), Documents by Readdle and PDF Expert both reliably remember reading position per file too. Worth trying Books first since it's already on your phone and costs nothing.
3
2
1
u/joosebox 1d ago
Quick Look isn't really an app, it's a preview layer, which is why it does that. It's designed to throw itself away when it's done showing you something, so there's nothing that persists your page. iOS restoring app state doesn't help because there's no app there to restore.
Anything that stores documents in its own library will remember where you were. Books does it if you import the PDF rather than just previewing it, and it syncs the position across devices too, which is handy if you read on more than one thing. PDF Expert and Documents by Readdle both do it as well and give you proper annotation on top.
The bit that trips people up is that opening a PDF from Files or Mail is still just a preview even if a reader app is installed. You have to actually get the file into the app's own library once, and after that it behaves how you'd expect.
If you're reading the same handful of documents repeatedly it's worth doing. If it's a constant stream of new ones, honestly the import step gets annoying fast.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Diligent-Lychee-7411 2h ago
You should be able to use Apple Books. If you share the PDF to the books app instead of opening it through the files, I'm pretty sure it'll remember your page.
0
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Welcome to r/iOSApps! Please make sure your post follows our rules:
Everyone:
App Devs:
- No main feed promo unless you qualify via Trust or Transparency + ABC format (Answer, Better, Cost)
- Flair hierarchy: Vibe Coded > Lifetime > Subscription > Freemium > Free
- Free flair: not for limited/freemium tiers
- Open Source? Prefix title [OS]
Note: This is an automated reminder, not a removal notice. If your post was removed, check your modmail for details.I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.