Last week, Tapbots released their newest Mac app, Tweetbot 3 for Mac, which is a third-party Twitter app that allows users to view their Twitter timeline directly from a Mac app.
Twitter did have their own official Mac app but the support for the app ended in early-2018, in favor of the company’s web version of their service. On top of that, the app came out during a time when third-party Twitter apps could be getting shut down altogether or have their functionality be significantly stripped.
For starters, the app comes with a brand new app icon. Instead of the square icon that is similar to the iOS version, Tweetbot 3 has a circular icon just like the Twitterrific (another third-party Twitter app) app but has an angry bird (not the game) on it. Usually, the bird is casual-looking, but for this app, it’s angry (almost like it’s angry about the Twitter API changes).
As for the app itself, the design as usual when it comes to Tweetbot apps is stellar! The timeline has a simplified look to it and now does come with a light and dark mode, which has been available in the iOS app for a few years.
On the side, you will find a sidebar that allows users to switch from timeline to search, profile, lists, etc. What makes this version different from Tweetbot 2 is that they combined the “@” Mentions tab and Activity tab and put them together as one. This is something you can find in the official Twitter app for iPhone and iPad. It’s also something that I like about this app since having all of those notifications on there in that one area is one of the few things that I like about the official Twitter app.
If you would like, Tweetbot 3 does give you the option to make it so that it only shows the “@” Mentions or Activity (likes, retweets or follows). You don’t have to have both on there.
Another item for the look of the app is the profile tab. I’ve always liked looking at that for my own profile since it is a point of pride with me and that it looks cool to see all that you have done on Twitter. However, the issue I have with the look is that when you click on the profile tab, it shows your profile’s followers, who you are following and your most recent tweets. You would think that there would be nothing wrong with this, right?
Well, as it turns out, there’s one tiny flaw. I like to be able to look at the amount of tweets I have. But don’t worry, this is still possible to use in Tweetbot 3. When you enter the profile tab, click the arrow near your name and “@” Twitter name (it should be on the right side) and you can view and see all of that information again. However, this should be something that should be standard on the app and not something that I should have to click an extra button for. But hey, at least they still included it in the first version of Tweetbot 3.
Tweetbot 3 does allow for columns so that you can have your Mentions, Activity, and searches all in columns, but all on one screen. It could be great for businesses that are searching for certain tweets or hashtags and be able to respond to them as quickly as possible.
Overall, Tweetbot 3 from me gets 3.5/4 stars. I would recommend this to anyone that is looking for a great third-party Twitter app for their Mac for either their own personal use or for business reasons. Tweetbot 3 currently costs $9.99 in the Mac App Store.
Rating: 3.5/4 stars
Feature image from the Tapbots Twitter account
