Twitter releases updates for its Android, iPhone and mobile web apps

Not long after Twitter announced new Cards for the micro-blogging site, it has released an update for its Android, iPhone and mobile web app. The new update brings along revamped user interfaces and quicker navigation within the apps.

The official Android app has got the most royal treatment with this update with a thorough redesign. The new user interface follows the Holo Android style guidelines much better with the new update. Of course, it manages to retain most of the style and actions we’ve come to associate the app with.

You will now also be able to swipe between your Home, Interactions, Discover and Profile tabs. Interestingly, the swipe function was first released by Twitter for its redesigned Windows Phone app. Of course, since you cannot swipe to bring up quick actions, you will need to tap and hold a tweet to bring up the menu, which will allow you to Retweet or Favourite it.

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New UI, swipe through feature and more in this update

Android users will also be able to experience wider and taller timelines that fill the screen and a flat looking navigation bar. Twitter is also making it easier to connect with friends and search for conversations by throwing up suggestions as you start typing out a username or hashtag.

Besides Android, Twitter apps on iPhone and mobile web have received tweaks too. All the mobile apps now show up more types of content in expanded tweets. Essentially, a new type of Cards will now be visible within the tweets.

Twitter Cards are embedded information that pop up within a tweet. When you click on a tweet of this sort, it opens up a drawer that contains such content. Tweets with additional information currently have an extra icon with detals about the kind of content that is in the tweet.

Twitter unveiled new types of Cards in an invite only developer meet this week. These new Cards will allow for new capabilities like mobile app linking, photo galleries as well as product information. With the App Card, you can see more information about an app including its name, icon, description and other details like rating or price. Once the app developer has given the app’s information to Twitter, the micro-blogging website will also display details of it from the App Store or Google Play.

Using the Product Cards, devlepers will now be able to pull additional information from websites for products. Besides image and description of the product, Twitter will allow for two customisable fields that can display additional information like price or ratings.

Lastly, instead of just a single image, users will now be able to embed an album or collection of photographs via a preview of the photo gallery. It will indicate to a viewer that an entire gallery, and not just a single image has been shared.

The updated Twitter apps on Android, iPhone and mobile.twitter.com now support these new Cards. Twitter has also deep linked these Cards with the updated apps. Now, if there is information from any other app in a tweet, a user will be able top view it directly within the app or even download the app. Say, if a friend of yours has checked in at a location, on opening the tweet you will be presented with the option of having a look at the check-in on Foursquare. If you do not have the app on your phone, you will be given a link to download it.

You can download Twitter for Android from the Google Play Store and Twitter for iPhone from the App Store.