When comparing Now for Reddit vs Slide for Reddit, the Slant community recommends Slide for Reddit for most people. In the question“What is the best Reddit app for Android?” Slide for Reddit is ranked 2nd while Now for Reddit is ranked 10th. The most important reason people chose Slide for Reddit is:
Released under GPLv3 license.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Clean slick interface
With the card-based UI, the app fits in very well design wise with the Material Design of the OS. Everything is intuitive to use being that the interface is familiar and follows Google's design guidelines.
Pro Translucent nav bar for Android 4.4+
Now for Reddit utilizes the transparent nav bar implemented in Android 4.4+, making for a cleaner looking interface.
Pro Nicely designed launcher icon
The design of the icon for Now for Reddit is clean, simple and fits well with material design.
Pro Configurable card sizes
Now for Reddit is one of the few Reddit clients that come with the ability to change how much content can be viewed on the screen. You'd also be hard pressed to find another Reddit client that can show you full-size images (via full-size cards) without you having even tapped on the image.
Keep in mind that the configurable card sizes might also have an impact on battery consumption, ranging from tiny cards (most battery efficient) to full size cards (most battery/data hungry).
Pro UI for phones and tablets
The design of the app lends itself well to phones and tablets alike no matter the orientation that the device is being held in. Not having to switch apps depending on the users device is a nice feature.
Pro Great performance/less jank
Using Android's profile GPU rendering tool it can be clearly shown how the Now for Reddit is generally more responsive than quite a few of the other popular reddit clients. For people obsessive about the 60 FPS mark, it would be hard to find a near 60 FPS experience as good as Now for Reddit.
Pro Easy navigation of subreddits
Pro Free version is open-source
Released under GPLv3 license.
Pro No advertisements
Slide for Reddit guarantees that there will never be advertisements in the app.
Pro Matches the design of newer Android devices
The Material Design guidelines were used 100% in the design of Slide for Reddit, making for an app that fits well on newer Android devices.
Pro Casual subs
Users can set a subreddit to casual which will not show the sub on the users front page, but still allows the sub to be easily viewed when selecting it individually.
Pro Themes and user set color coded subreddits
Users can set colors to their favorite subreddits allowing for an easier cursory glance at the info contained in the app with over 50 color combinations. When combined with the three available themes this allows for over 150 theme combinations.
Pro AMA mode
AMA mode allows for the user to see OP comments easily by color coding them.
Cons
Con Can be CPU and/or data intensive
Reddit Now tends to use a lot of data as well as runs the CPU pretty hard, which in turn drains the battery fast.
Con Hard to navigate when you subscribe to many subreddits
Con Delayed messages
Most Reddit clients refresh your inbox upon opening the app, notifying you instantly about any messages that you have. Now for Reddit on the other hand may not alert you of any messages even if you're using the app. The delay is generally short, but sometimes can take up to a couple of hours with no noticeable pattern. As a workaround, it's possible to manually refresh, but this might be a deal-breaker for some.
Con Has to reload sometimes and will always reload and forget your place (goes back to frontpage) if you reopen the app from its launcher icon
Con App abandoned by developer
The developer had admittedly abandoned this app to move on to other things. This app hasn't received an update since June 2021.
Con Buggy page management
Frontpage posts doesn't load after logged in. Subbed reddits aren't managed well.