What you need to know about Reddit: The Official App

After years of serving as one of the Internet’s most popular social websites despite never having an official mobile app, Reddit now has an official mobile app.

The process of this app’s creation began several months ago when Reddit acquired the popular third-party Reddit browsing app Alien Blue. At the time they named it their official third-party browsing app, but as of today Alien Blue has been taken off of the app store and Reddit’s now official app has taken its place.

So how is it? Well anyone that used Alien Blue previously will notice that a lot of that app’s designs are still the foundation of this new, official app. The main philosophy here appears to be minimalism, which has always been Reddit’s philosophy in terms of layout.

The biggest selling point of this app over pulling Reddit up in your browser is how much easier it is to navigate between pages and posts. Selecting individual posts, comments and photos is much easier with how much real estate each is given, and secondary actions like saving your favorite posts or navigating between sections are smartly tucked away into from the main viewing area.

There are two kinds of views when navigating the app called card and compact. Of the two, compact is more suited for those trying to power browse through a section, while card gives individual posts more prominence and easier access to features. It’s also much easier to directly upload images from your camera and phone now, while fans of Alien Blue’s night mode viewing option will be happy to know that it makes its return here.

Outside of that, there aren’t many blockbuster features to this app at the moment as its primary purpose is to improve user navigation efficiency through better interface. That being said, the new speed read button is perhaps its greatest single feature. This button allows you to quickly navigate between each new post in a thread while skipping the replies, which is particularly useful for interview threads and other long chains. There’s also a couple of design Easter eggs and personality touches spread throughout.

So is this the definitive Reddit browsing app? At the moment, it’s tough to award it that honor. Popular Reddit companion app BaconReader for Reddit is still more feature heavy, and its interface is more vibrant without being cumbersome. However, there is a very impressive framework in place here for tremendous innovations moving forward. The official Reddit app itself is also incredibly efficient from a usage standpoint, making it essential for power and data conservatives.

Reddit: The Official App is now available on the app store for free, and any user that signs into it will get three months of Reddit’s premium subscription service, Reddit Gold.