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Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET
Twitter has both overhauled its Apple iPad app and integrated the software with its version for the iPhone.
Released Wednesday, Twitter app version 6.36 is the first update of the app designed for both mobile devices. Future updates may still offer different features for the iPhone and iPad. But down the road, Twitter is focused on trying to provide the same features for both devices.
The release of the new Twitter app on Wednesday comes just as Apple is preparing its latest product launch at 10 a.m. PT. Apple usually reserves September to unveil its latest iPhone lineup, but rumors suggest the company will introduce new iPads as well. Whether new or existing iPads are in the mix, the new Twitter app has been geared to support them.
First, the new Twitter app adds features for the iPad previously found only in the iPhone version. This includes the ability to quote from an original tweet and add more of your own text while chewing up less of your 140-character limit. You can also search Twitter for trending topics and visit pages devoted to specific products or places.
Beyond the new features, Twitter is touting the new layout of its mobile app. To create a more flexible design, Twitter’s developers looked at factors such the type of device (phone or tablet), orientation, size of the current view and typographic settings and limitations. The goal was to come up with an optimum line length, font size and view.
“We can adjust the baseline type size so the content feels right relative to the size of the view,” Twitter product designer Brendan Donohoe said in a blog post Tuesday. “We can adjust image presentation for the orientation of your screen, giving you a better photo browsing experience. We can change the presentation of information: views that use push navigation on a phone may live side-by-side on a wide enough screen. We can optimize behaviors: what’s easily accessible to your thumb on your phone may be hard to reach on a tablet if we don’t adapt to the environment.”
There are advantages for Twitter itself as well in the shift. With a single version for iOS and features that adjust themselves automatically, tweaking the mobile app can happen more quickly.
The new style is also designed to simplify life for Twitter as new iOS features kick in.
“This approach lets us design beyond the present,” Donohoe said. “When new devices or features come along — like multitasking in iOS 9 (which allows two apps to run side-by-side), or the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus — thanks to this system, we can support them with almost no additional effort immediately upon their release.”
