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Twitter is killing its Mac app, but do you even really care?

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Twitter said on Friday that it’s discontinuing the Twitter for Mac app. The company removed its app from the Mac App Store and will stop supporting the currently-installed app in 30 days. As an alternative, Twitter says Mac owners can get the “full” Twitter experience using their web browser. Meanwhile, Twitter’s app still remains on the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 device owners — but who knows how long that’ll last. 

“We’re focusing our efforts on a great Twitter experience that’s consistent across platforms,” the company says.  

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The news isn’t sitting well with some Mac owners. The point of providing specific apps boils down to convenience and experience. For the former, native apps are just that: Convenient. There’s no need to load up a browser, click on a bookmark, or manually type in the address. Pop-up notifications appear on your screen too so you immediately know when someone responds to a tweet. Now that’s gone for all Mac users. 

“So your ‘great twitter experience’ includes removing the Twitter app for Apple Watch & Mac?” says one user on Twitter. “Because I don’t see how forcing people to use a webpage is a ‘great experience.'” 

“Wow. So you don’t even consider Mac a platform,” states another. “Some of us used your app on Mac every single day for years.” 

Opinions about the MacOS app are mixed: Some love it, and other prefer the web-based version. But there’s definitely a user base who believe Twitter’s move to kill the app is a bad decision — a base that will likely migrate to a third-party solution.

 

One Twitter user brings up an interesting point: the possibility that Apple may combine iOS and MacOS apps in 2018. According to reports, software developers can now create a single app that works on touch-centric iPhones, iPads, and mouse/keyboard-based MacOS devices. The move is to provide a more unified experience across Apple devices, shorten development time, and provide better solutions in the Mac App Store. This way, apps for mobile aren’t prioritized over apps for Mac. 

Until then, Mac owners are forced to either use the browser-based version, or grab a third-party app like Twitterrific 5 for Mac, which dropped down in price to $7.99 following Twitter’s decision to pull the Mac app plug. It’s a third-party solution from The Iconfactory that promises to make Twitter “fun.” Features like badges for user avatars, an uncluttered timeline, themes, and an interface designed specifically for MacOS. 

“Guess I’ll have to go to a 3rd party app for the first time because you throw away one of your best apps,” says one Twitter for Mac user. 

What happens to the Twitter for Mac app once the 30-day window expires is unknown for now. Will the app simply not send tweets to the social website? Will it no longer receive feeds? Even more, do you even care if Twitter is killing off this app? Vote in the poll or respond in the comments below to let us know what you think.

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Kevin Parrish
Kevin Parrish
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