Reddit Rolls Out Customizable News Tab to Most Users of its Official iOS App

[MacRumors]

Reddit has announced the rollout of its customizable News tab feature to most users of its iOS app. After limited alpha testing of the tab over the last few weeks, Reddit says it has acted on feedback and introduced enough improvements for the next beta phase of testing to reach a wider audience.

The News tab appears to the left of the Home and Popular tabs, and brings together content from community subreddits that frequently share and engage with news. Content is divided into topics like Politics, Sports, and Technology, and users can further customize them to show only the subtopics they're most interested in.

You told us you wanted more granular news topics (not just Sports but Baseball specifically), so we've introduced subtopics for you to personalize your News tab and notifications. You all told us you want to be able to see how different communities are talking about the same story. So, we are developing a community pivot feature that will show you multiple threads from different communities on the same article.

Reddit says it has set guidelines for the communities that filter into the experience, as well as the post type (posts titles must reflect the article title, for example). The News tab is also coming to desktop later this summer, and Reddit plans to continue to expand the communities that appear in the News tab in the third quarter of this year.

The Reddit app is a free download available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Reddit Rolls Out Customizable News Tab to Most Users of its Official iOS App

 

[martyjmclean]

First they need to roll out an app that’s as good as Apollo.

 

[IUBall22]

First they need to roll out an app that’s as good as Apollo.

I’ve heard lots of people saying Apollo is better. Having only used the official reddit app and being completely satisfied...what makes Apollo better?

 

[makr]

I’ve heard lots of people saying Apollo is better. Having only used the official reddit app and being completely satisfied...what makes Apollo better?

I'm wondering that too

 

[jmh600cbr]

“The news tab appears to the left” no kidding

 

[dustygamecube]

“The news tab appears to the left” no kidding

Haha. I was actually glad they put that, because I updated the app and seem to be one of the few who don’t get the News tab today.

Edit: Just kidding, it was because I hadn’t updated my iOS. It’s there now.

 

[littleasian36]

I’ve heard lots of people saying Apollo is better. Having only used the official reddit app and being completely satisfied...what makes Apollo better?

Built by iOS developer to be compliant with iOS app guidelines. Gesture controls. No ads (that I’ve seen). I do miss the swiping between the home/popular tabs from the Reddit app. Just give it a try and see how you like it. There’s a free version and a pro version for 2.99 which includes bonuses such as custom icons, custom gestures, and automatic transitions into dark mode.

But mostly because the news tab on the original app is horrendous and such an eyesore.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I ended up on 4chan in '06, and stuck around there through the entire downward spiral until this year, when I finally tried out Reddit, & found that while headlines appear to be slightly more intelligent, the comments section is no better than /b. But, at least the site design allows you to skim over a hundred headlines quickly to skip the most obvious garbage. Redesigning the site so it reads like a blog and displays only one story on the screen at a time seems like a mistake.

 

[NagasakiGG]

I’ve heard lots of people saying Apollo is better. Having only used the official reddit app and being completely satisfied...what makes Apollo better?

Everything. It’s like, Apollo is an App how Steve wanted it to be if Reddit were his.
No seriously, you can change an many settings. You can even theme the logo lol.

 

[Lerxt]

I hate how reddit constantly harasses you to sign in with every new page load. If I wanted to sign in, I would Reddit. Hopefully it won’t start bugging me about downloading a news app I don’t want.

 

[Dekema2]

I’ve heard lots of people saying Apollo is better. Having only used the official reddit app and being completely satisfied...what makes Apollo better?

Well it's really a David and Goliath scenario...you have one guy developing an app (which I use daily) all by himself with community input that could arguably be considered superior to the official Reddit app, using the API that's given to him, whereas the official app is developed by a major internet company that should have several engineers working on the code and many people dislike it.

 

[canyonblue737]

I use and paid for Apollo but I can’t put my finger on it, I actually like the normal iOS Reddit app better. Pics are better displayed inline with Apollo (not that the normal app is bad) but I dislike the gesture control, find the typography better in the Reddit app, find the normal app faster etc. The Apollo developer is AMAZING in his community interaction and it averages 5 stars on iTunes with tens of thousands of reviews ... so my complaints are probably me. I have both apps, I just find myself using Reddit more. Shrug.

 

[0008652]

One reason why Apollo is better: PERFORMANCE

 

[The Phazer]

I can't fathom why you'd use the official Reddit app. It's dismally designed and wastes huge amounts of space.

 

[MacFan23]

First they need to roll out an app that’s as good as Apollo.

What makes it so much better? I've just downloaded it and am struggling to see a real difference outside of the swipe gestures. What am I missing?

EDIT

Built by iOS developer to be compliant with iOS app guidelines. Gesture controls. No ads (that I’ve seen). I do miss the swiping between the home/popular tabs from the Reddit app. Just give it a try and see how you like it. There’s a free version and a pro version for 2.99 which includes bonuses such as custom icons, custom gestures, and automatic transitions into dark mode.

But mostly because the news tab on the original app is horrendous and such an eyesore.

Guess I should've read the thread first.

I suppose it just comes down to personal preference but personally I don't see much difference.

 

[canyonblue737]

One reason why Apollo is better: PERFORMANCE

serious? it seems slower to me than the current reddit app. both are fine to me.

 

[nfl46]

This is similar to the Twitter situation.

Tweetbot > Official Twitter app
Apollo > Official Reddit app

Unfortunately the official apps have all the control and will limit Tweetbot and Apollo functionality. It really sucks Tweetbot can't get all the goodies the official app has.

 

[Vasilioskn]

The app is ok, but if you’re a gold member then just keep using it in safari. The app doesn’t not support gold member benefits such as highlighting new comments.

 

[racerhomie]

Use Apollo. If you are on iOS.
It’s way better. On older devices, on newer ones.

 

[jmh600cbr]

Haha. I was actually glad they put that, because I updated the app and seem to be one of the few who don’t get the News tab today.

Edit: Just kidding, it was because I hadn’t updated my iOS. It’s there now.

i was making a political joke using a play on words. i hope people got that.