Boost for Reddit app gains Material You colors days before Reddit shuts it down

While the app is set to shut down in the coming days due to upcoming Reddit policy changes, the developer of Boost for Reddit has released a much-anticipated update with Material You colors.

At the end of this month, Reddit is enacting sweeping changes to the use of its developer API, aimed at increasing the company’s profits by eliminating the costs incurred by third-party apps like rif, Apollo, and Boost. However, the pricing that Reddit has set – along with the mistreatment of developers and communities – is forcing almost every third-party Reddit app to shut down at the end of this month.

With just days left to go until the June 30 deadline, the developer of Boost, Rubén Mayayo, has released a new update for the Reddit client, version 1.12.9, available now via the Play Store. Most recently teased in March, the update brings full support for the Material You dynamic color theming options introduced with Android 12.

The new toggle is available in the app’s settings (Settings > Theme > Dynamic color) and works across light and dark modes. The coloration is more prominent in light mode, adding a pastel tint to the background, floating action button, highlighted comments, and names of subreddits and Redditors.

Additionally, if you choose to use the “Themed icons” toggle on newer Android phones (particularly Pixel devices), you’ll be treated to a clean, monochrome take on Boost for Reddit’s usual rocketship icon. The app has also gained a few additional tweaks and improvements with this version, such as rounded corners. As a longtime fan of Boost for Reddit, I’ve been eager for this update to arrive for quite a long time.

New Material Theme, with dynamic colors and monochrome icon support (Android 12)
Front page renamed to Home
Setting to set Home sort
Gallery preview does not crop images
Setting for rounded corners in cards
Hide blocked users comments
Easier comments search field
New navigation bar in comments
Improvements to gifs loading
Send message button in profiles
Profiles show cake day instead of age
Minor improvements and bug fixes
Updated libraries

But again, unless Reddit radically shifts its policies and intentions, there’s not much time left to enjoy the redesign. Even if you wanted to make the most of the limited remaining time to browse with Boost’s Material You colors, you’d find Reddit a bit quieter than it was before. As coincidentally shown in the screenshots above, many larger subreddits are currently closed for new submissions, protesting Reddit’s API policy change – “indefinitely,” in some cases.