Ask Lemmy @lemmy.world HexPat @lemm.ee 6d ago

Best app for Lemmy?

Hi all. I’m new here so go easy. What is the best way to enjoy and get the most out of Lemmy if I’m accustomed to the Reddit app interface? I’m trying Voyager but it feels clunky. I’m trying it in my browser too and at phtn dot app.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I’m using iOS

Edit 2: thanks for all the suggestions. I’ll give them a spin!

60 comments

I like Voyager but it's optimised for phones.
- I still use it on desktop. Definitely not ideal, but it works for me. I can't even remember why at this point. Some feature that isn't in the native interface. Before user tagging. Probably something to do with blocking or filtering.
  
  I don’t see a reason to use Lemmy app on desktop though. Feels more natural to access Lemmy and Reddit through browser if I am on desktop.
  
  Keyword blocking keeps me on voyager on desktop. Unless I’m making a new post (which I don’t like the voyager interface for) and then it’s back to the web UI
The best useful source: https://www.lemmyapps.com/

You can filter the search by various settings to have just a few selected results. I personally use Voyager on phone and computer.
- Adding to this comment:
  
  filter by platform
  
  source: open (because why would you use a closed source app for an open network?)
  
  type: free (but consider donating to your app of choice)
  
  leave feature filters as they are
  
  order the table by last release (prefer actively maintained apps so new lemmy features get implemented fast)
I like Voyager for Lemmy, reminds of Apollo for Reddit.
- Apollo…
  
  Sideload Apollo, you can still use it
There are probably better apps but jerboa does it for me.

edit: not to say jerboa is bad
- I like Jerboa because of how similar it is to RIF Is Fun
- Thanks!
I personally like Arctic.
I use jerboa
I love Boost, no idea if it's ios
I've tried a bunch of apps, and Thunder is my favorite. I believe it's available for both iOS and Android.

I was a big fan of relay for Reddit, and thunder is the closest I've found.
- I’ll take a look. Thank you
I've experimented with numerous apps for Lemmy, but Boost for Lemmy has become my go-to choice. It truly has everything I need and is incredibly user-friendly—it's the full package. While I’ve noticed it hasn’t received updates in a while, there’s no reason to fix what isn’t broken. I’ve also tried Voyager, Sync, Thunder, Eternity, and Connect, but none of them have convinced me to switch from Boost.
- Thank you
Sync is what I like. Used it for reddit, then the dev ported it over to lemmy.
- I recently switched away from Sync to Voyager. Like you I'd loved sync for both platforms, but it's been bugging for me for awhile, and didn't realize it wasn't being updated so I switched.
I use Boost for Lemmy (paid) as that is what I used to use on Reddit, but I've been seeing the odd message recently of people saying it has been abandoned as there have been no updates. It still functions perfectly fine for me.
- Dont use Boost, it has built in unnecessary trackers
  
  How do you see this?
- Fellow boost user here. Everything works fine, and I can't think of any missing features. Can't imagine what an update would involve honestly.
  
  spoiler
  
  spoilers still don't work
Jeroba is nice
I use Eternity.
- Same. Does what I want.
What device are you on?
- iPad only
  
  Thunder has a tablet mode view, which can help maximize browsing on an iPad.
  
  Voyager works pretty well on iPad (and iPhone) for me. It’s a lot like a spiritual successor to Apollo for Reddit.
  
  I love the filter aspect of it. Easily lets you block an entire community or user from the browser. Also lets you block entire instances if you wish to do so.
  
  The overall look and feel and ease of use is also just easy and clean. Everything is there for you that you need.
  
  The search function always works wonderfully but does require you to be on an instance that is federated to other instances in order to view everything possible, so if you’re on an obscure instance like mine, you won’t always find everything but that’s not the fault of Voyager.
  
  They have a support community too which is fairly active every time I’ve had a question in the past.
  
  It also let you switch between accounts very easily.
  
  All this is free and doesn’t require purchase but it is good if you can donate if you find it as useful as I have. They don’t beg for donations and there are no ads. They even let you change the app icon.
  
  Try adding “old.” before your insurance URL, if installed its a reproduction of the OG reddit layout
I use eternity... It's a perfectly ok Lemmy app 👍
Just because I haven't seen it here: I use Mlem and like it. I haven't tried any other apps but from the comments here it seems no one else has tried Mlem so I'm not sure how it compares. I do enjoy the filtering of keywords. It's indispensable these days.
- Thank you
I've used the web interface, Voyager, Mlem, Memmy, Thunder, and Avalon.

But Arctic is the slickest and closest to Apollo I've found.
- Much appreciated
For iOS, I use Mlem. It’s open source and updated regularly (the TestFlight version at least). It’s got a really nice interface. Lots of little customization options. Feels a lot like Apollo. My second choice is Arctic. A lot of great options, has push notifications. But isn’t open source (yet!) and feels like it’s slightly less polished than Mlem.

I’m looking for Android equivalent to these two apps, but I’m not see anything remotely close.
- I found Voyager to be quite similar to Apollo. It's available for both iOS and Android. Plus it's open source.
  
  I’ve tried it! Both on iOS and Android. Maybe it’s cause it’s not native. There’s something about how it feels that isn’t the same as a native app.
- Thank you
I used Voyager for a long time, but have been using Arctic for a while now and will probably stick with it. It’s UI/UX isn’t quite as refined as Voyager, but it has feature parity and feels much more like a native app. I’m pretty sure Voyager was originally a web app and in some ways doesn’t behave like a native iOS app. It’s solid though and is actively developed.
I was using Voyager, but it lacks notifications. So, now I’m using Arctic. It’s not perfect but it has notifications.
I use Mlem on iOS.
It's kind of subjective. I say try them out and see what you like but also remember there's multiple Lemmy web UIs. I like using Interstellar with Mbin
As an ex reddit is fun app user, Summit has a comparable interface that I like.
- Thank you
Another vote for Mlem.
I tried a lot of apps a while ago and liked summit ([email protected]) the best after tinkering with the settings.
You should also be sure to check out [email protected], where you can find discussion and connect with devs.

There is a pinned post at the top that lists all of the active apps. iOS especially has a couple that have not received updates in a while, although they may be still useful.

On a larger screen, you might benefit from using a web app. There are several good ones with very active development.
Can someone who uses Lemmy apps explain why? I seriously don't understand why so many people prefer app over just browser.
- IMO it looks better and easier navigation than trying to use the web interface on my phone. But also keyword filters.
- I’m also interested.

60 comments