Widget-first

Dense: More Headlines in Less Space

Most news widgets show one headline. Dense packs in way more. While everyone else adds padding and whitespace, I went the opposite direction: cram as much signal as possible into a 2x2 square. AI picks the strongest stories, deduplicates, and rewrites blurbs that actually fit.

iOSiPadOSmacOS

Why I built Dense

Most news widgets waste space on a single headline and a big thumbnail. I wanted a tiny dashboard that shows the day at a glance. Dense crams more headlines into the same footprint without turning into clutter. Gemini searches Google for the last 48 hours using search grounding, ranks and dedupes the results, and writes summaries that stay legible inside a tight grid.

Everything is tuned for the widget: short blurbs, limited tokens, and smart refresh windows so you get updates without draining battery. When you tap in, the app uses the same layout language so it feels like a zoomed-in version of the widget, not a separate app.

Live Google results

Gemini search grounding pulls the last 48 hours. No stale RSS.

Summaries that fit

Short blurbs that respect the widget grid. No walls of text.

Dense stacks AI-picked stories like pixel blocks, keeping only the strongest headlines in view.

The widget is the primary interface. Pick a topic, set your colors, and Dense handles the rest. The app mirrors the same tight layout so jumping between them feels seamless.

Dense feed view — Tap in to see the full feed with the same tight layout

Dense macOS sidebar with stacked headlines — macOS sidebar mirrors the widget grid

How Dense works

Gemini searches Google for the last 48 hours, ranks and dedupes, then writes tight summaries for your widget.

Widget-first, not an afterthought

Designed around the small widget. More headlines per square inch than any default Apple widget.

Google search, Gemini brain

Gemini uses search grounding to pull the last 48 hours of Google results, then ranks, dedupes, and rewrites.

Glance and go

Smart refresh windows keep headlines fresh without you poking a feed.

Micro summaries

Tiny blurbs optimized for the widget grid. Enough to scan, not enough to waste time.

Cost-aware

Gemini calls are throttled and cached. The widget favors reuse over constant refreshes.

Everywhere

iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Same pixel grid identity, tuned for light and dark.

user@foldingsky:~/cumbersome

Widget-first news for people who skim

Dense started because I wanted more headlines in less space. The widget shows the day at a glance, and the app matches the same grid so it feels like one surface.

iOSiPadOSmacOS

See Dense Try Cumbersome

I also enjoy growing dahlias in Beaverton, Oregon

Built by Me (Peter)

I am a bootstrapper who has spent 30 years building products that solve real problems.

Since 1994, I have led three companies from startup to acquisition (Cybersight, Followerwonk, Fluxguard) and built Starbucks' global digital product organization.

One person. No VC money. No growth hacking. I build these apps because I want tools that respect power users.