When it comes to wasting time on the internet nothing tops Reddit aka the front page of the internet. The popular message board-like site lets users share news with up and down votes plus comments.
Baconit has long been one of our favorite Reddit apps for Windows Phone, but it has been awhile between updates. Luckily, developer and Microsoftie Quinn Damerell has been hard at work on a revamp spending the last three months coding it in his spare time. Not only is the app update, but it is a 100% complete rewrite using the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). That means the app can run on your phone, your PC, your Surface and even HoloLens (seriously).
We had early access to the app, and I have no problems calling it the best looking and more importantly, most intuitive Reddit client for Windows yet. This app makes me want to give up my browser + RES combo that I typically rely on for daily viewing.
Quinn shared with us just how much this app leverages UWP:
"It is the same UI that runs on phone, desktop, Xbox, HoloLens, etc. I was really careful while building the app to make the UI very powerful and beautiful no matter what device you use it on, so it doesn't feel like a phone app scaled up on a desktop or a vice versa. The app works beautifully on a 950 with continuum, it seamless scales between the phone and the monitor UI and when on the monitor looks and feels just like the desktop app. To achieve this, I actually wrote a custom panel manager for all of the UI and used it for all transitions. This enables me to keep the UI stacks custom in the app, so when you go from phone to desktop mode, the UI will react correctly. (try it; drag the app to be small, use it as a phone, then make it large, and observe how the back behavior works). Also, since it is a Universal app, all of your settings, account information, read links, etc. will roam magically between any device that the app is installed on."
I have been a huge fan of UWP apps ever since trying out Fitbit (another shining UWP example). These apps are fast, fluid, with smooth transitions and much more power for handling media and events than 8.1 apps.
Running Baconit on my Lumia 1520 with Windows 10 or my Surface Book has been a great experience.
My favorite design feature is the ability just to swipe up to read comments. Also, the ability to download to other PCs, tablets and more and having your profile roam makes setting up so much easier.
Open sourced
Quinn has also taken the extra step to open source the code for Baconit. There is now a sub-reddit set up called /r/BaconitDev where devs can contribute to the project to make it even better. Quinn notes:
"At first I welcome people to come take a look and start submitting bug fixes, but I think it might be a few weeks before I take any major feature changes. I want to complete the base of the app before people start working on features…Ideally I hope I can get a small group of core developers to help me with the project and have the management of the project be not just me, but others also."
Certainly that is a unique idea and follows with the current open Microsoft strategy. Other developers may want to consider such an approach too if this works out well for Baconit.
Try it now
Baconit for Windows 10 Mobile is now available. The desktop version is also trickling through the Store and should be live in the next few hours as well (Microsoft needs to update the web page to show it is available).
Have comments, recommendations or bugs to report? Use /r/Baconit!
For myself, Baconit represents everything that is right about Windows 10 and UWP. The app is dynamic, fast, powerful and looks fantastic. Throw in open sourcing to leverage the community and Baconit gets my award for the top new app for Windows 10. Plus it's free and ad-free (donations are welcomed through in-app purchase).
Don't have Windows 10 yet? Just watch our hands-on video above to see it all in action.
Download Baconit for Windows 10
