Flitter is a New Twitter App With Potential

Flitter ($2.99) by Shihab Mehboob is a brand new app for getting your Twitter repair. When you're uninterested in simply having Tweetbot or Twitterrific as third-party choices for Twitter on iOS, then you definitely're in luck with Flitter.

As all of us most likely know by now, Twitter initially got here out in March 2006. That's over 12 years in the past now. Personally, I signed up for Twitter in 2007, and it's been my go-to social community for years. I've made just a few good buddies from Twitter, and a few I've even met in individual (loopy, I do know). For years, I've been utilizing Tweetbot as my important Twitter shopper on each iOS and Mac, with Twitterrific being an in depth second alternative every time an replace comes out. In a time the place it looks like new third-party Twitter apps are scarce as a result of modifications within the API, it's a shock that Flitter was launched in any respect. Nonetheless, as I'm at all times interested by new apps, I needed to test it out for myself.

App Feels Like

$4.99

Tweetbot 4 for Twitter

Tapbots

Free

Twitterrific 5 for Twitter

The Iconfactory

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Twitter

Twitter, Inc.

Visually, Flitter is a straightforward and clear app that carries a minimalist design that ought to attraction to loads. It carries an aesthetic that jogs my memory of most native Apple apps, and all the things is specified by a neat and arranged method. Regardless of the simplicity on the floor, Flitter additionally offers customers loads of choices for customizing the app's look to their very own liking, together with some themes, accent hues, and even totally different app icons. Flitter can also be pretty quick and simple to navigate.

To make use of Flitter, you'll want a Twitter account. Simply log in along with your credentials after which all the things will get loaded up. Flitter has fast entry to 4 important sections within the backside toolbar: House (Timeline), Mentions, Direct Messages, and Your Profile. Additionally on the backside is a "+" button that permits you to compose a brand new tweet.

Now, about that compose button. It's considered one of Flitter's greatest options, as a result of you may transfer it to wherever that's comfy for you. To do that, simply lengthy press that button after which drag it wherever you need. IT can float above the toolbar, or go in any of the 4 corners of your display screen in order that it's inside straightforward attain of your thumb.

Composing a brand new tweet is your typical fare, the place you might have a textual content field to write down a message as much as 240 characters. One factor I do like about Flitter is the very fact that there’s a button on the toolbar that provides you quick entry to the emoticons with distinctive characters. You recognize, issues just like the shrug "¯_(ツ)/¯" and the desk flip "(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻)". I really like utilizing these emotes very often, however it's at all times a ache to sort out. So Flitter having these is a pleasant addition.

Since many get their information from Twitter, viewing trending matters is a should. With Flitter, trending matters is well considered by tapping on the icon within the higher left nook. It defaults to worldwide developments, however you may fine-tune it to a selected area that pursuits you. Flitter's search button is within the higher proper nook, and you are able to do fast searches in your timeline, comb via world tweets, or discover particular customers.

Going again to your timeline, tweets are organized in chronological order, with latest on the prime. When you faucet on a tweet, you may view it in additional element, together with full threaded conversations. I particularly like Flitter's approach of dealing with this as a result of when a tweet is a part of a thread, the tweet you considered will get pushed all the way down to reveal the start of the thread on the prime, and also you learn it from top-to-bottom.

Different particulars Flitter handles properly within the tweet element display screen are the variety of likes and retweets {that a} tweet has. It even provides a pleasant little little bit of commentary, corresponding to "triple digits!" or "it's about to enter double digits!" for the variety of likes and retweets. It's enjoyable and cute, although it may be thought of distracting for some.

To answer, simply faucet on the speech bubble icon. To love one thing, simply faucet on the center. Retweet is completed with the "recycle" icon, and you are able to do a traditional retweet or quote. There are additionally different choices for sharing, or viewing the unique consumer's profile, including a bookmark to the consumer, and extra.

Flitter's profile view can also be fairly good. You get a pleasant large space for the header picture, avatar, and bio particulars. Above the username would be the variety of tweets they've made. It's not a giant deal, however the emphasis is form of enjoyable in the event you care about numbers. Beneath the next and follower counts is a scrollable ribbon of current media posted by the consumer, and beneath all of which are current tweets.

You additionally entry the app's settings out of your profile view as properly. Simply faucet on the gear icon. From right here, you may change the app icon, tweak normal settings (time show, the way to present hyperlinks, and so on.), look and show (themes, font dimension, picture dimension, and so on.), sounds and haptics, Contact ID and Passcode, and Accounts. Flitter is fairly beneficiant with giving customers the power to customise their Twitter expertise, which is good.

Flitter is a brand new Twitter app that has a variety of potential, however not fairly there but.

The Good

Flitter is a fairly good app when it comes to visuals and performance. I really like the power to vary the aesthetics to suit my wants, and the way in which it reveals threaded conversations is a lot better than that in Tweetbot (I’ve to scroll as much as learn earlier replies).

The Unhealthy

Sadly, I’ve extra points with Flitter that forestall me from utilizing it full time. For one, I observed that the app has a variety of lag and freezing if you return to it after the gadget is locked and Flitter was nonetheless operating. That is very true when you have it set to robotically change between a darkish and lightweight theme. I'm additionally not a giant fan of not with the ability to use swipe gestures on tweets within the timeline to do fast actions like like or reply. I'm used to this in Tweetbot, and I really feel it's a lot quicker than going right into a tweet element display screen to do.

And since I take advantage of Tweetbot on each my Mac and iOS, I take advantage of iCloud for tweet syncing. Flitter doesn't have any form of timeline syncing (i.e. Tweet Marker), and it at all times appears to scroll as much as the most recent tweet after I come again. That is annoying and ends in wasted time as I attempt to discover the place I final left off.

I've additionally encountered a variety of crashes throughout my testing of the app, which prevents me from utilizing it out of frustration.

The decision

I've lengthy thought of myself a Twitter energy consumer, and whereas Flitter seems to be good, I can't decide to utilizing it proper now. At the very least not in its present state. It's nonetheless too buggy, inconsistent, and never as dependable as Tweetbot or Twitterrific. There are different good options, such because the emoticons and the way in which the threads are displayed, however there's extra cons than professionals.