Reddit Just Started Testing Audio and Video Posts, and TikTok Should Pay Attention
Reddit has started testing a new “read” or “play” experience that turns select English-language posts into audio and video inside its iOS and Android apps.
The part worth watching is whether Reddit can pull a massive genre of narrated Reddit stories back from TikTok and Reels without sanding off the weird community texture that makes Reddit Reddit.
➜ The real story: Reddit spent years watching other platforms turn its posts into snackable entertainment, and now it’s finally testing the obvious move: keeping the story, the comments and the audience in one place.
This is the next step in the Reddit video and audio experience the company previewed earlier this summer.
The initial experiment is limited, but the concept is pretty straightforward: when a supported post appears, you can either read it normally or hit “play” and consume it as audio or video.
The original text post and comment thread aren’t going anywhere.
Reddit “Read” and “Play” Test Brings Audio and Video to iPhone and Android
The test is rolling out across select communities on the Reddit iOS and Android apps, with English-language posts getting the first shot.
Reddit is using the experiment to figure out which kinds of posts actually work in audio and video, rather than dumping every text thread into an autoplay machine on day one.
That matters because a relationship confession, a wild workplace story and a deeply specific hobby argument do not need the same treatment.
For now, this feels more like Reddit testing a new consumption mode than rebuilding the entire app around video.
Reddit Is Taking the TikTok Reddit Stories Format Back to the Source
The format already has a giant life outside Reddit.
TikTok and Meta Reels are full of narrated Reddit posts paired with gameplay, cooking footage and other visual wallpaper designed to keep people watching while the story unfolds.
Reddit now has a chance to bring that behavior home while preserving the original post, comments and community context.
It also fits the broader 2026 social media shift toward interest-driven feeds and content formats built around what people actually stop to watch, hear and replay.
Reddit Video Could Get Much Bigger Without Replacing Text Posts
The smartest part of the test is that Reddit isn’t asking users to choose between old Reddit and new Reddit.
Text remains the source, while audio and video become optional ways to consume it during a walk, workout or errand.
Reddit has also been pushing further into video comments, giving the company another signal that users are willing to communicate beyond text.
if “play” works without turning every subreddit into the same vertical feed, Reddit may have found a way to expand video without losing the thing that made the platform useful in the first place.
FAQs
What is the new Reddit Read or Play audio and video feature?
It’s a limited mobile test that lets users consume supported Reddit posts as either the original text or an audio and video “play” version.
Where is Reddit testing new audio and video posts?
The test is available in select communities for English-language posts on the Reddit iOS and Android apps.
Does the new Reddit video experience replace text posts and comments?
No. The original text post and comments remain available, with audio and video added as optional ways to consume the same content.
