Hello dear readers!
Historically, the team Twitter is not very fond of unofficial clients, they shackle third-party developers in every possible way and do not let them roam, limiting the number of connected users (issuing a certain number of 'tokens'). Developers, in turn, are forced to go to the tricks in order to still earn their pretty penny. Someone, after reaching the maximum possible level, releases a new application with the Plus prefix or under a different number (2, 3, etc.), while someone makes the application free and asks for money for each connected account. As they say, who is in what is much. Nevertheless, it was not possible to scare away all developers with these restrictions, and on Android there are worthy Twitter clients, which I want to tell you about.
It was not difficult to identify candidates for consideration, almost all of them have existed for several years, and the main leaders are already established. In order to confirm my choice, I decided to conduct a small survey in Twitter in order to find out who uses which client (thanks to Eldar Murtazin and Alexander Zhuravlev for their help in distribution). In addition to three third-party applications, I added an official Twitter client to the material, it will be the starting point for us.
I will consider each client in three aspects:
- What the message feed looks like;
- What an individual tweet looks like and how to interact with it;
- Additional features.
Official client
I disagree that the official Twitter client cannot be used, as many say. It is a very handy and easy-to-use application that also gets all functional updates first. For example, everyone else has no votes at the moment, they simply are not visible in the feed. At the same time, third-party developers are rather reluctant to release updates, so this is a definite plus of the official client.
Tape
The official client's tape cannot be called compact, however, the space in it is not used in vain. There are three buttons below each tweet: reply, retweet, and like. All images attached to a tweet, regardless of aspect ratio and size, occupy the same space, which is quite convenient and concise. Open images are swiped up or down with a swipe. Unfortunately, photos from Instagram and other services are not shown (you need to follow the link and open in a browser). Links in tweets are formed into beautiful previews, but they take up a lot of space, so the decision is controversial. The feed is updated in real time, when you close the application remembers the position, and when you open it you continue reading the feed from the same place.
It is impossible not to mention the advertisement in the feed, it is made in the form of a regular tweet and is not striking, it is shown approximately every 25-30 posts.
Tweet
When you click on a tweet, it opens in a separate window, text and images are aligned in width. Pre-correspondence and replies to a tweet are displayed at the top (you need to pull down) and below, respectively. Links open in the built-in browser, which is very convenient, you do not need to jump back and forth between applications, by the way, you can turn it off in the settings.
The 'tweet' button is located in the lower bar, where you can quickly post a photo or image (when you scroll, this bar is hidden). In the tweet window, you can attach an image, enable a geo-tag and create a vote. Typing in the first letters of a username or popular hashtag prompts you for suggestions.
Additionally
Outwardly, the application looks quite nice, beautiful and smooth animations, but if you scroll the tape very quickly, you can notice short jerks, literally for a split second. All reposts, mentions and favorites of your tweets are available on a separate button (bell icon) 'notifications', private messages can be found just to the right of this button. It seems to me that this could be taken out in separate tabs and moved between them with swipes, it will be especially convenient for owners of devices with large diagonals – it is inconvenient to reach up.
The client differs from all others in its simplicity and a very meager set of settings, but we cannot say that this is a negative side, rather a feature. It is noticeable that a lot of work is being done on it, updates are regularly released. I want to note that earlier the 'Tweet' button was round and was in the lower right corner, as it should be according to the Material Design guidelines, but for some reason it changed over time.
If you want to get acquainted with such a social network as Twitter, then I highly recommend starting with the official client, besides, it is completely free.
Pros:
- Free;
- Receives updates first;
- Quick action buttons under each tweet;
- Built-in browser;
- Remembers the position in the tape when turned off.
Minuses:
- No tabs;
- Few settings;
- No support for third party services (Instagram, YouTube, etc.).
Fenix
One of the most popular options from the survey in Twitter and also the most expensive client of all presented today (359 rubles). The appearance of the application personally repulses me with something, like everything was done according to the Material Design guidelines, but I could not understand what was wrong with it.
Tape
Regular layout
Miniature layout
The news feed looks quite compact, but exactly until you come across an image. There is a miniature layout for tweets, about 15% more information fits into the feed. All images are positioned under the tweet and stretched to the full width of the display in a window with a 3: 4 ratio. The decision is rather controversial, since any such tweet takes up 3/4 of the display, if you turn on the miniature multimedia display mode, but then all the previews become too small and you will not be able to see anything. I would like to see something in between these modes, as, for example, in the official client. An open image can be 'swiped' with a swipe down or up. Photos from Instagram are loaded and there is a built-in YouTube player.
In the settings, you can enable real-time updates, that is, tweets will be displayed in the feed immediately after they appear and you do not need to manually update them. Apparently, this item does not have a very good effect on energy consumption, be careful. The top bar displays a number that shows the number of unread tweets, when clicked, it moves you to the beginning. The application does not remember your place in the feed and, when you open it, throws it to the beginning – this is a rather big drawback.
Tweet
After a long press on a tweet in the feed, four buttons appear below it: reply, retweet, add to favorites (like) and a context menu. A short press opens a tweet – in the settings you can invert these actions, and a short press will pop up a quick action panel, and a long press will open a tweet. An open tweet can be closed with a left to right gesture (the same gesture is implemented in iOS at the system level). In addition to the typical items in the context menu such as Share, Link to Tweet, Copy Tweet, there is a Translate Tweet button – it redirects you to the Google translator app, if installed, otherwise it sends you to the web. version of this service. The client has a built-in browser, and all links are opened in it. If for some reason it does not suit you, then you can disable it in the settings without any problems.
The round tweet button is in the lower right corner – just as Google bequeathed. Besides attaching photos and locations, there are separate buttons for the '@' and '#' symbols. The canceled tweets are added to drafts, which is pretty handy.
Additionally
The application has many possibilities for customizing the appearance, you can change the main theme – light, dark or black, change the color of the 'Tweet' button – 18 colors to choose from, you can change the font and its size. Swipeable tabs on the home screen can be customized and swapped.
In general, the application works well, animations are smooth, the tape scrolls without twitching, the application has never crashed and there were no other troubles.
Pros:
- Convenient work with gestures;
- Built-in browser;
- Support for images from Instagram and videos from YouTube;
- Many customization options;
- Smooth operation and stability.
Minuses:
- Does not remember the position in the tape when turned off;
- Images take up a lot of space;
- High price.
Price: 359 rubles.
Talon
The application met me with a crash when I tried to enter my username and password.
Talon proved to be a very well thought-out client, but the main element – the news feed – was not executed quite correctly, there is a lot of empty space on the screen (you can clearly see it in the screenshots in white areas).
Tape
As I said, the display space is very irrational. Images, as in the previous application, are located under the tweet text and stretch in width, open ones are swiped with a swipe, services such as Instagram and YouTube are supported. At the bottom right, a small translucent button appears, which shows the number of unread tweets, a very convenient location, you do not need to reach the top of the display, like on other clients. To the right of the counter is a round 'Tweet' button. When scrolling, all these elements are hidden, thereby freeing up space. The application remembers the position in the tape and does not throw it up even when closed.
Tweet
To somehow interact with a tweet, you must open it, that is, without opening it, you cannot repost, reply, or add to favorites. You can close a tweet with a swipe from top to bottom, a great solution, even more convenient than in Fenix. Of the interesting features: links open in the built-in browser, but not in full screen, but in a small window. It is very convenient, you can quickly see what the link contains, and if necessary, you can open it in a full-fledged browser.
Using the 'Tweet' button you can not only create a tweet, but also send a private message. There is the possibility of deferred publication, a very interesting function, you can think of many use cases.
Additionally
The color scheme of the application is completely changed, you can change the font (4 to choose from) and point size (from 8 to 34).
There is a great feature – Talon Pull. It allows you to track new tweets in real time and keeps a small card in the notification shade that displays the number of new tweets, and when you click on the button, a feed opens in a small pop-up window on top of any open application.
I liked how user profiles are opened, in the form of a card that 'slides out' from the bottom. An avatar and brief information are shown, if you want to open a full profile, you need to pull this card up. There is support for multiple accounts. I would like to note the beautiful and smooth animations.
When the text was already written and all that was left was to collect screenshots, when I opened the application, I saw a completely empty tape. Only data reset helped. In general, stability is not very smooth here.
Pros:
- Convenient gesture control;
- A third-party browser does not open in full screen, but in a small window;
- Talon Pull function;
- Support for images from Instagram and videos from YouTube;
- Lots of settings.
Minuses:
- Stability problems;
- No quick action line (reply, retweet, add to favorites);
Price: 268 rubles.
Falcon Pro 3
The most beautiful and smooth Twitter is the client, in my subjective opinion. There is an excellent combination of colors, everything looks harmonious, although you cannot change the colors of the elements, as in Fenix and Talon. The developer went for a little trick, the application is absolutely free on Google Play, but when you try to log in, you will be politely asked to pay 268 rubles for the first account and 134 rubles for each subsequent one. Actually, if you buy an application and you don’t like it, you cannot return the money.
Tape
This is the most optimal use of space on the display, provided that there is no picture or video attached to the tweet, the preview is formatted to fit the width of the screen and takes up a lot of space, in principle, like all other clients. Either that, or no preview at all in the tape. Content from Instagram and YouTube is supported.
The number of unread tweets is shown on a narrow bar at the top, by clicking on it you get to the beginning of the feed.
Tweet
The interaction with the tweet is well implemented. Three types of pressing are supported: simple (short), long and double, for each you can assign your own action, for me a simple press opens a tweet, for a long press – quick actions (reply, retweet, add to favorites), and a double tap is answered per tweet. An open tweet can be swiped from top to bottom, but this only works if an image is attached and you need to drag from the bottom half of the screen.
When you post a tweet, a small feed with the most recently added images in the gallery is shown – this is very convenient. Otherwise, nothing special, everything is pretty minimalistic.
Additionally
There is no Russian language in the application, this should not be too difficult, but it would be wrong not to say about it. The developer's support is encouraging, on his site you can vote for adding any new 'features', and they will appear in the next update, but updates, alas, are released quite rarely. The client works very smoothly and stably, and outwardly, for me personally, this is the most beautiful tape reader application Twitter.
Pros:
- Stable and smooth operation;
- Many settings;
- Nice appearance;
- Support for images from Instagram and videos from YouTube;
- The most compact tape.
Minuses:
- No Russian language;
- There is no way to get your money back if you don't like the app.
Price: 268 rubles for the first connected account and 134 rubles for each subsequent one.
That's all for today. I had to bypass a lot of quite good clients, but I tried to choose the best of the best. For myself, I settled on Falcon Pro 3, but if it were not for this material, I would continue to use the official one Twitter.
Write in the comments which client you are using and why. It will be interesting to read.
Have a nice day, see you!