Twitter on Thursday revamped its iOS app to make it easier to access features like photos, trends, and links.
First up, Twitter added a new photo upload option. When you select the compose button, there is now a menu atop the keyboard with a camera icon. Tap it and the app will give you the option to upload a photo from your existing library or take a photo that will be uploaded immediately.
That menu also includes an "@" button - tap it, and Twitter will show a list of the people you follow. As you type a name, the app will auto-complete from your list of friends. A hashtag icon next to the "@" button does the same thing for hashtags. Finally, the menu also includes a location option - tap it and a pop-up message will ask you if you want to add a location to your tweet.
Also on the local front, the updated app allows users to see trends based on your location. Twitter also added select trending terms to the actual tweet timeline - they will appear atop the screen and disappear once you start scrolling; Tap for more information about them. This also includes sponsored tweets.
If you want to tweet a link, Twitter for iOS will now automatically shorten that link when you paste it into the tweet box. Twitter said it also re-designed the "new tweet" screen" to make it cleaner and simpler.
When you first sign in with the updated app, a "What's new" alert will pop up. Twitter will offer the option to find friends by scanning your phone's contacts. If you don't enable that right away, you can revisit it later via the "Find Friends" button below the trending topics.
Finally, Twitter has turned direct messages into a conversation view, so they look more like the text messages conversations you have on your iPhone.