Reddit Rolls Out Mobile UI Updates to Streamline Interaction

Reddit has announced some new updates to its mobile UI, which are designed to streamline interaction within the app, and encourage participation in subreddit reply streams.

As explained by Reddit:

“We started with our vision for what a better mobile experience could look like on Reddit, but we knew that the best outcomes would come from building alongside the community. So we looked to the Reddit User Feedback Collective to work with redditors interested in testing early versions of these updates and sharing feedback with us. We heard what worked, and we made changes based on what didn’t, and the final product is a direct result of community collaboration.”

First off, Reddit says that comments will now load faster, making it easier to engage in chat related to each post.

Reddit’s also making it easier to get to the comments section, by opening to the comments feed when a user taps on the reply button, as opposed to making you scroll past the main post.

As you can see in this example, you’ll also be able to get back to the main post at any time via a new context bar at the top of the comments page, which will also keep the main post front of mind as you read.

“If someone wants to take a closer look at media from their feed before getting into the comments – a single tap on the image or video gets them where they want to go.”

Finally, Reddit’s also rolling out a unified media player, and new transitions, to make it easier to engage in the app.

“Simply swipe up for conversations, swipe left for new content.”

The more intuitive UI could make it easier for Redditors to scroll through the latest updates, and engage in related chats.

Reddit’s looking to make significant improvements to the app, which it’s now able to do by making use of its newfound capital raised as part of its IPO, which it launched last month.

Though public listing also brings more scrutiny, and it’ll be interesting to see if and how Reddit will be able to grow in line with market expectations.

Updates like this will help, but they’re unlikely to draw new users to the app. Which is what Reddit really needs, but maybe, as part of the broader development of the app, this will be another important step.