Ever since Reddit announced the start of the closed beta, we’ve been curious to see how their official app would function. Today we got the chance to peek behind the curtain and see what it is the beta testers are playing with.

Right off the bat, we like the visuals. The home-screen icon as an elegant Material Design feel to it. The Reddit Is Fun icon looks downright shabby by comparison. The sleek aesthetics continue to wow once you get inside the app. Everything slides around smoothly and the Night mode option is something we’ll definitely be using.

However, the home screen is a little bit clumsy. By default, all the images are shown at full width, which makes quickly skimming your Reddit front page something of a hassle. You can turn these preview images off, but getting it to actually work is extremely hit-and-miss. In fact, all the settings feel a little buggy, and you often have to restart the app to put them into effect. But hey, that’s what betas are for.

All in all, it’s a pretty well put together app for something that’s still in development. We’re reluctant to judge it too harshly by its flaws at this early date, because if they can get the functionality to be as polished as the visual design, then we’re going to be looking at a pretty serious competitor here. For now, however, you’re still better off sticking with a third party rather than hunting down an unauthorized .apk of the beta.

What are your thoughts regarding Reddit’s official app? Are you a part of the beta test? Let us know your opinions so far in the comments below!