Tweetbot 3 for iPhone Review

Tweetbot is the best Twitter app that’s out there, hands down. It’s feature-packed and easy to use. Tweetbot 3 continues this app’s legacy as the best, and is a must for anyone who uses Twitter.

Now, Tweetbot 3 is a new app, not just an update to the now-previous version of Tweetbot. While the two apps are pretty much feature-identical, there’s been some usability tweaks and a revamped look and feel for iOS 7. It no longer sticks out like a sore thumb - it fits, and it’s a welcome redesign. It is a bit jarring jumping from the new look to a version using the old one, but the Mac version will be updated for Mavericks soon, and Tweetbot for iPad is in the works down the road.

There’s been some key streamlining to the features of the app. The left-to-right swipe for conversation view is gone, now the right-to-left swipe views both conversation and replies, though something new may be coming to the left-to-right swipe. The list tab on the bottom (accessible by tapping and holding on one of the last two tabs) now handles reading all lists instead of being accessible from the title text on the Timeline tab. Links now call up a browser in the tab they were opened in so it’s possible to, say, switch to another tab to answer a DM, then switch back to the link in the timeline tab.

The triple-tap has been removed for technical reasons, unfortunately. Also, there’s still no setting to have the device auto-sleep when plugged in to AC power. It baffles me that this isn’t something I can configure. And after years of the original Tweetbot notification sound, the new one may take some time to get used to!

For those who use Tweetbot already, Tweetbot 3 is a fantastic upgrade. But for those who don’t, there’s just so many reasons why it’s great. It of course handles the core Twitter features with aplomb. It supports multiple accounts with ease. The mute filters are perhaps the killer feature, though. They can make annoying users, apps, keywords, and hashtags disappear temporarily or for good – and they sync via iCloud to the Mac and iPad versions. Timeline and unread mentions/DM counts syncing via iCloud works amazingly as well. Tweetbot is lord of the cloud. There are just so many little options available that make the user’s Twitter experience their experience, instead of what Twitter dictates it to be.

While Tweetbot 3’s big hook is the visual overhaul, the new usability tweaks are welcome. And considering that this is the one app I’ve used on a daily basis for years I have no problem shelling out a few more bucks for an updated version to support the developers, and current Tweetbot users shouldn’t either. The changes are well worth it. And for those who haven’t jumped on the Tweetbot train? Now’s the time. This is the best Twitter app, period.