So you won’t be needing to leave the app anymore

Mar 19, 2021 15:18 GMT  ·  By

Twitter has announced a new series of features that the company is currently working on for mobile devices, including in-app YouTube video playing support.

Right now, when someone shares a YouTube link, if you want to watch it, clicking the video opens it in a separate page on YouTube.

Needless to say, this means that you’re actually leaving Twitter, and in some cases, it means you’re not returning to the app. For Twitter, this isn’t the most convenient approach, and it needs to be changed.

This is why the company has started the work on a new way to watch YouTube videos, all right within the mobile apps on Android and iPhone. So in theory, once someone shares a YouTube video and the link shows up in your timeline, clicking it should just start playing and letting you to watch it without actually leaving Twitter.

Of course, you can always close the video UI and return to your Twitter account, so overall, the chances of returning to the app are much higher.

4K image support

At the same time, the social network has also confirmed that it’s working on new ways to provide users with higher quality photos on Android and iPhone. 4K images will be allowed in its mobile app, with the new feature currently in testing.

“Sometimes it's better said with a picture or a video. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be testing some ways to improve how you can share and view media on Twitter. Have a collection of higher res photos waiting to be shared? We’re testing ways for you to upload and view 4K images on Android and iOS,” the company says.

“If you're in the test, update your high-quality image preferences in “Data usage” settings to get started. Starting today on iOS, we’re testing a way to watch YouTube videos directly in your Home timeline, without leaving the conversation on Twitter.”

There are no specifics as to when these features are projected to land for everybody.