Twitter 6.0 is out with new design, DM photo-sharing and more

Twitter has updated its official iOS client today, bringing the app to version 6.0. The update is a fairly significant one, bringing about a new look and feel for the app, as well as photo-sharing for direct messages, improved search and more.

The new look pushes the UI of the Twitter app further into iOS 7 territory. There’s more white spacing—the menu bar at the bottom is now all white— and texts and graphics seem flatter. And Twitter has added various other enhancements…

Here’s the 6.0 change log:

New design.
- Refreshed look and feel. Home, Activity and Discover now available by swiping in Timelines. Easier access to DMs.
Share photos in Direct Messages.
- Send and receive photos via DMs.
Notifications from your network.
- Choose to view replies, retweets, and favorites from only the people that you follow.
Search got even easier.
- Access tweets from people you follow and near you, directly from search results.
Safari Reading List support
- Save web articles to read later with Safari Reading List

I actual really like the design tweaks Twitter has made today, and I especially like that they’ve simplified the menu bar. Where as before it read Home-Connect-Discover-Me, now it reads Timelines-Notifications-Messages-Me. Much more clear.

Twitter for iOS updated with new search filters and more

Twitter has updated its official iOS client this evening, bringing the app to version 5.13. The update includes improvements for Search and Discover tabs, making it easier to find the content you’re looking for.

Among these improvements are new search filters, which will allow you to quickly navigate to specific people and tweets, and toggle between relevant tweets and ‘top tweets.’ Full release notes are after the fold…

What’s new in version 5.13:

Find exactly what you’re looking for.
•Search results now show content that is filtered to the type of moments you want.
See what’s trending on TV and close by to you. 
•After you’ve browsed through all trends in Discover, you’ll see additional trends about both TV and local content.
Better login verification.
•Take a screenshot of your verification backup code when you enroll or generate a new one

The new search filters work just as you’d expect them to, making it easier than ever to find what you’re looking for. And I imagine the new ‘nearby’ trending timeline could be cool at concerts or pro sporting events.

It’s tough for me because yeah, Twitter is doing some cool stuff with its official iOS app, but the UI just doesn’t measure up to third party apps like Tweetbot or Twitterrific. It’s too busy for me, and tough to follow.

At any rate, if you’d like to check out today’s update, you can find the latest version of Twitter for iOS in the App Store for free. And if you’re not yet, be sure to follow iDownloadBlog on Twitter by clicking here.

Twitter enables inline images/Vines, adds quick reply/retweet/favorite buttons

The micro-blogging service Twitter just refreshed its mobile apps and the web interface with in-stream previews for images and Vine videos so you can see attached media without having to click the hyperlinks like crazy.

It’s a marked improvement over Twitter’s Media mode that similarily infests your timeline with media previews at the expense of completeness, because all non-media tweets get omitted from Media view.

Additionally, this edition of Twitter for iPhone and iPad includes a set of handy buttons to quickly re-tweet, reply or favorite someone’s tweet right from the timeline…

“Tweet a picture without text, and let the image say it all,” says Twitter.

I’m sure advertisers will be jumping with joy over all-image tweets.

To reveal the full screen version of an image, simply tap its preview in the timeline. Here, a Vine below takes you through a six-second tour of these new features.

It’s worth pointing out that these in-stream previews work only with Vine videos and Twitter images, for now. Should be interesting seeing how other apps react to this move which has given Twitter yet another unfair advantage over third-party developers.

With the groundwork now laid out, you could imagine other in-stream media previews added in the future. I know what some of you must be thinking: if I wanted my timeline flooded with unwanted images, I’d be on Facebook, right? Relax, should inline previews take up too much of your screen real estate, you can always turn them off  in settings, like so.

I’m also liking the quick action buttons.

Unlike Twitter, apps such as Tweetbot and Twitterrific require you to swipe left or right over a tweet to reveal the buttons. This is slower versus Twitter’s persistent quick action buttons to reply, retweet favorite or follow someone straight from a tweet in the timeline.

Also – and I’m not sure if this is the result of today’s update as I haven’t fired up Twitter’s official iOS app for weeks (I’m a heavy Tweetbot user) – the software totally feels fluid and way more responsive.

Really, it struck me as – dare I say – noticeably faster than Tweetbot on my iPhone.

If I wanted to whine about this update, I’d probably note that the conversation line color has changed and how the app inexplicably continues to add a one-pixel white line to the bottom of uploaded photos, which has been ticking me off for quite some time now.

The new photo and video previews are available on Twitter.com, too.

Tweetbot 3 is out with all-new design for iOS 7

Popular Twitter client Tweetbot has finally received its iOS 7 update this afternoon. A week after Tapbots announced that the new app had been sent off to Apple and was awaiting approval from the App Team, Tweetbot 3 has arrived.

As expected, Tweetbot 3 has been completely redesigned from the ground up for iOS 7—as you can see in the screenshot above, it looks nothing like its predecessor. And also as expected, the brand new app comes with a new price tag…

Here are the release notes:

Tweetbot is a full-featured Twitter client that’s fast, beautiful, and redesigned from the ground up for iOS7. Tweetbot has slimmed down to look and feel more like iOS7 and has also gained a lot of charm and speed in the process. Prepare to fall in love with your favorite Twitter client all over again.

Brief Highlights:

- Completely redesigned from the ground up for iOS7.
- Native Push Notifications.
- Mute filters lets you block messages from users without unfollowing them. Mute services, hashtags, people, and even keywords (regex included).
- Sync timeline position, direct message read statuses and mute filters between iPhone, iPad, and the Mac via iCloud or Tweetmarker.
- Customizable Navigation. The last 2 tabs are customizable and unused tabs are easily accessible.
- Support for multiple services like Pocket, Instapaper, Readability, CloudApp, Droplr, and more.
- Save drafts, add locations and POI’s, attach photos/videos, manage your lists, and much more.

And another screenshot for good measure:

Again, this is a brand new app for iOS 7. So you’ll need the new firmware to download it, and even if you already own the Tweetbot app, you’ll have to pay for it again. The good news is, it looks and feels like a completely different client.

If you’re interested, you can find Tweetbot 3 for iPhone in the App Store, for a limited-time price of $2.99.