Twitter is reportedly set to receive a user interface (UI) overhaul in the coming months, as suggested by Twitter CEO Elon Musk himself.
Kicking off the refresh would be the ability for users to switch between recommended top Tweets vs latest Tweets by swiping right/left. The ability would likely be limited to Twitter on iOS and Android, and it is currently unclear if an easier way to switch between timelines would be made available for Twitter on the web.
The feature is expected to roll out “later this week.”
Easy swipe right/left to move between recommended vs followed tweets rolls out later this week.
First part of a much larger UI overhaul.
Bookmark button (de facto silent like) on Tweet details rolls out a week later.
Long form tweets early Feb.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2023
Furthermore, a new bookmark button, which Musk is calling the “de facto silent like,” will roll out next week. It’s worth noting that Twitter users on iOS, Android and web already have the option to bookmark Tweets, but they must first tap the ‘Share’ button to reach the bookmark button. The refresh coming next week will likely bring the bookmark button front and centre alongside the Tweet details (likes, retweets, views).
Lastly, long-form Tweets are expected to arrive sometime in early February. The rollout of the feature would allow users to type up to 4,000 characters per Tweet, up from 280 currently.
The Tweets wouldn’t take up all 4,000 characters worth of space and “will get the same Timeline screen space as other tweets.” Users would be able to click a ‘read more’ or ‘see more’ button to expand the Tweet, similar to Instagram and Facebook.
We will also be adding simple formatting features like bold, underline & font size later this quarter.
The goal is to allow people to publish long-form natively on Twitter, rather than forcing them to use another website.
Twitter will continue to recommend brevity in tweets.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2023
Other new Twitter features that are on the drawing board, but don’t have an exact release date, include simple formatting features, like bold and italicized Tweets, underlining and font sizing. These features are expected to roll out “later this quarter.”
Header image credit: Shutterstock
Source: @elonmusk
