Flipboard Updates iOS App With GIF Support

Nary a soul on the Internet can resist a good GIF, but Flipboard browsers on iOS devices have been deprived until now. Today Flipboard has hooked up iOS users with GIF support, a feature Android users have long enjoyed.

The update includes support for GIFs within the news feed, as well as some new GIF-centric magazines such as “Just GIF It” (lots of cats and things related to cats), “GIF Pop” (slightly terrifying but pretty awesome), and “GIF Me A Break” (a beautiful collection of artsy GIFs).

The update also brings with it a number of new features, most notably Top Stories, which automatically surfaces new and popular content to the top of each Category, such as News, Sports, Tech, and Business.

Other update additions include an auto-prompt to share a magazine after flipping through more than 10 pages, as well as an auto-profile page for anyone who creates three or more magazines. The additions are more subtle than GIF support, but certainly bring a nice (albeit slightly pushy) touch.

The popularity of GIFs right now is undeniable. It’s not just big guys like Tumblr, Cinemagram, and (questionably) Vine getting in on the looping, animated fun — a whole slew of startups have recently launched GIF-flavored (the file type, not the peanut butter) ventures.

For example, Stilly is a one-button GIF maker that launched in May. Tumblr began letting users create GIFs with their webcams in July, the same month that Coub raised $1 million for its GIF-like music video making service.

Plus, Viber and WhatsApp competitor Pinger launched support for GIF messaging just a few days ago.

Obviously, Flipboard is right on time in terms of delivering the types of content users are looking for in this crazy place called the Internet.

You can check out the update here.