Official Reddit App Launched
The new official Reddit app for iPhone and iPad has been launched following the acquisition of Alien Blue Apple

Reddit has launched an official smartphone app for browsing and posting to the so-called "front page of the internet" having acquired the popular Alien Blue app.

While there are numerous third-party apps available on all platforms for browsing and posting to Reddit, thus far the only app to have the official Reddit seal of approval was the specialised Reddit AMA - Ask Me Anything app which launched just last month.

On iPhone and iPad, the most popular third-party app has been Alien Blue, and so it is no surprise that Reddit chose to acquire this when it wanted to launch an official app.

Announcing the move, Reddit said: "We are pleased to announce that the most popular iOS client for reddit, Alien Blue, is now an official reddit app."

The app is only available on iOS at the moment, though a launch on Android, which commands an 80% share of the smartphone market is likely in the near future.

Other platforms

As part of the deal, Alien Blue developer Jase Morrissey has joined the message board, and in a message hints at creating apps for other platforms:

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the very talented reddit crew. I'm the developer of Alien Blue and have been working closely with reddit for many years now. I'm an iOS developer by profession, but I adore building software on any device or machine that I can get my hands on."

Those who are already using Alien Blue will need to download a completely new app, but for the moment, Reddit is making the app completely free, including the upgrade to the Pro version (though this is only for the first week).

Reddit says users should first download the new app and transfer all the settings before deleting the new apps.

To transfer your customised settings to the new version (including subreddit groups, filters, and Imgur uploads) you should:

  • Launch the older version of Alien Blue and tap Settings > Advanced Settings > Privacy Settings > Export Settings to Clipboard
  • In the new Alien Blue app, tap Settings > Advanced Settings > Privacy Settings > Import Settings from Clipboard

Reddit warns current Pro users that they will need to upgrade to the new version within the next week or face having to pay for the Pro upgrade again.