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Reddit recently released its official iPhone and Android app, but forgot one crucial feature: iPad support. That’s right, the official Reddit app runs as an iPhone app on the iPad. As you can see in the photo to the right, it’s a sad sight.
The good news is there are a few quality third-party Reddit apps, each one providing a means to browse through your favorite subreddits.
BaconReader
Enlarge ImageBaconReader for iPad.
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
BaconReader is completely free to use, as long as you don’t mind the occasional advertisement mixed into the stream of posts. You can remove ads with an in-app purchase of $1.99 (£1.49 or AU$2.99 in the UK and Australia, respectively).
The app has a list of popular subreddits to help get you started if you’re new to Reddit, or once you log in to your account you can view your personal front page and subscribed subs.
One benefit BaconReader has over other apps is that it allows you to upload photos when creating a new post. One downside is the image previews only work about half the time.
Download BaconReader from the App Store.
Narwhal
Enlarge ImageNarwhal on iPad.
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
Narwhal is arguably the most visually appealing and intuitive app out of the bunch. On the left side of the app is a stream of Reddit posts, with a large image and GIF preview area taking up the right side of the screen, just above the comment thread. Upvoting or downvoting a comment is done with a swipe to the left. You can save or hide posts with a swipe to the right.
The free version comes with all features unlocked. Meaning you can post, search and subscribe to subs as you would by using the Reddit website.
A $2.99 (£2.29 or AU$4.49 in the UK and Australia, respectively) in-app purchase will remove ads that appear along the bottom of the screen as well as randomly throughout post threads.
Download Narwhal from the App Store.
More Reddit news
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- Reddit drops hint on national security snooping
Antenna
Enlarge ImageAntenna app on iPad.
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
Antenna appears to be an app without many frills, with an interface that closely resembles Reddit’s website. Navigation is done through primarily swipes and gestures, as opposed to buttons, which is a bit confusing at first. Remember, when all else fails, swipe right. (Not a Tinder joke.)
The free version offers bare-bone experience of browsing Reddit, requiring a $2.99 (£2.29 or AU$4.49 in the UK and Australia, respectively) in-app purchase to unlock features such as search, view user info and create new posts.
Download Antenna from the App Store.
Alien Blue
Enlarge ImageAlienBlue iPad app.
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
Reddit still labels Alien Blue as the official Reddit app for iPad, but the company is no longer working on improving the app. It last received an update in September 2015.
Instead, an official iPad Reddit app will eventually become a reality (possibly NSFW link), either through an update to the iPhone version or as a standalone iPad version.
You can still use AlienBlue, however. It’s completely free, lacking any sort of in-app purchase to remove ads or gain new features.
More so than other Reddit apps, AlienBlue relies a series of panels for keeping your place within threads, while also letting you expand and read comments or view images.
Download AlienBlue from the App Store.
Bonus: Safari or Chrome
Of course, if you’d rather use Safari or Chrome to browse Reddit from your iPad that’s always possible. The frustrating part of using a browser to view Reddit is the amount of bouncing between the Imgur and YouTube app that occurs when viewing images, GIFs or videos. With a dedicated app like those mentioned here, inline previews and viewing are possible most of the time.
