Reddit Sync v8 Dev Version - First Look

Like many people across the internet, I spend a good amount of my web browsing time on Reddit. It's a great place to stay current on a huge number of different topics, and it has a bustling community at the ready to post breaking news at the drop of a hat. While Reddit's stripped down and simple design works well on a desktop, it doesn't translate well to use on a smartphone or tablet. And while I'm not a fan of how every website thinks it needs a mobile app where a well designed mobile site or a simple RSS feed would do the job just as well, I'm left to look for a good client for Android to take advantage of everything it has to offer.

Luckily for us, there is no shortage of Reddit clients on Google Play. I have tried Reddit is Fun, Reddit News, and Flow for Reddit, but I always end up going back to Reddit Sync. The version currently up in the Play Store is great in its own right, but the developer has been working hard on a complete re-write of the app for the past several months, and although unfinished, it is the best Reddit experience I've yet found on Android.

The Need for an App

As I said before, to stay current on every other website I frequent I utilize their RSS feed and the Android app Press. Articles are presented in a clean and easy-to-skim way that makes browsing through a big list of articles very simple. But my use of those sites and my use of Reddit are very different. When skimming through articles from NPR news, I passively check articles that pique my interest, read them, and move on. But when I'm reading Reddit, I often want to chime into the conversation and quickly post a comment or maybe I even want to post an article I just found from NPR.

Press RSS reader

Chrome renders text very strangely sometimes

And therein lies my need for a fully featured Reddit client. I actually interact with the site instead of simply reading it. Sure, you can accomplish everything you need to do from the Reddit website on your device's web browser, but doing so isn't very enjoyable. For some reason Chrome for Android still has a hard time rendering fonts correctly at times, so the Reddit frontpage is often littered with fonts of varying sizes. Hitting the small touch targets along the top of the page to switch to different categories is also difficult, and posting a link or comment is far from streamlined.

With those considerations in mind, let's jump into Reddit Sync and take a look at how it enhances the Reddit experience on mobile. The most recent version as of the writing of this article is 8.0.29.

Design

The stated goal of Reddit Sync is "to be the Reddit app that Google would build," and after taking one look at its design shows you just how dedicated the developer is to accomplishing that goal.

Reddit Sync's default "small cards" view

Everything about the app closely adheres to Google's newest metaphor of the "cards UI". With the use of ample white space, clean typography, and clear iconography everything about its design screams "polish!". And the design goes further than simply looking pretty. By sticking closely to already established design patterns, the app feels instantly familiar and simple to use.

Reddit Sync's "magazine" view

Pretty familiar looking, eh?

If you're not satisfied with the default view, luckily you can switch to four different layouts. There is a simple list view, the "small cards" view (seen in the screenshot above), the "cards" view, and perhaps the most useful is the "magazine" view. For viewing a picture heavy sub-Reddit, the magazine view provides large cards with not only the picture, but also useful controls for voting, favoriting, and an overflow button for additional options.

Features

Even though Reddit Sync v8 is still in the development stage, almost all of the my most used features are already implemented. The two biggest omissions currently are profile viewing and message viewing, but I'm willing to live without those for the time being since it accomplishes everything else so well.

Two pane view

Perhaps the most important feature is simply being able to browse Reddit enjoyably. Reddit Sync takes full advantage of responsive design techniques and scales great on 4, 7, and 10-inch devices. The two pane layout available on tablets in landscape makes browsing quick and easy. In the left pane you can skim through different articles and posts while simultaneously viewing comments in the right pane. In this respect, I would even say that it beats the desktop Reddit experience.

Comment browsing is also made very easy by clearly identifying parent comments through the use of alternating white and grey text boxes. You can also quickly jump between the different top-level comments by tapping the right and left facing carats on the bottom of the comments pane, and adding a comment of your own is as easy as tapping the compose icon located in the action bar.

Reddit Sync's navigation drawer

Reddit Sync also utilizes the official navigation drawer from Google to give you quick access to a number of different things. With a simple bezel swipe from the left edge of the screen, you can view your profile and messages (currently not implemented), enter a sub-Reddit you aren't subscribed to, change settings, and easily navigate between the sub-Reddits you are subscribed to. 

Reddit Sync's sidebar viewer

A bezel swipe from the right edge of the screen will bring up the sidebar of the sub you are currently viewing. This provides quick access to rules, helpful links, and soon you will even be able to subscribe or unsubscribe right from the menu!

Reddit Sync's in app browser

Each post within Reddit Sync is identified as either a text post, a web link, a picture, or a video with a simple icon next to the post title. Opening a web link will launch a simple but feature-rich in app browser, allowing you to view web content without breaking the flow of the browsing experience.

Reddit Sync's picture viewer

Similarly, opening a picture post will launch a custom photo viewer that allows you to easily browse a gallery, download a picture, or share it using Android's intents system. With a simple swipe, you can quickly browse through a large album of photos.

Conclusion

If your Reddit needs are similar to mine, then at this point I think it would be hard to beat Reddit Sync. You can try the current stable version of Reddit Sync through Google Play (free or pro), or if you want to give the dev version a shot, it's free to try out! If you want to get a little more involved, you can check out the Reddit Sync sub-Reddit for the latest news and downloads, or if you want to contribute you can post bugs and feature requests to the projects' Github page.

If you're a user of both Reddit and Android, there's no reason not to give Reddit Sync a try. Like, now. Go give it a shot already!