Tweetbot 3 vs Twitterrific 5 for iOS 7 – Tweetbot was one of the best Twitter clients out there – in fact, it was my favorite Twitter app on my iPhone. Ever since Apple released iOS 7, however, everyone has been waiting for an iOS 7 Tweetbot redesign. At least, til today.
Tweetbot 3 for iOS 7 is finally live on the App Store.
Tweetbot 3 by Tapbots comes as a new app, not an upgrade. As such, you are required to make another purchase at around $2.99 (which will increase after the release period is over). Considering it took them weeks and lots of hard work to deliver this, $3 doesn’t sound much but there would still be people complaining, of course.
Using iOS 7 APIs and libraries, Tweetbot 3 has been redesigned from the ground up, making a full use of iOS 7 modern design and physics. Tweetbot 3 is now more fun to use (with a few animations here and there such as when you are dragging a picture preview down).
Ever since iOS 7 beta back in the early days, however, I’ve been converted to Twitterrific, another great Twitter app that already had a minimalist, flat design like iOS 7. At that time, it was the only Twitter app with iOS 7 design. Ever since they released an iOS 7 version, I fell in love.
So far, I still prefer Twitterrific 5 than Tweetbot 3, but I’ve only been using Tweetbot 3 for half a day, so I’ll give it some more time.
Twitterrific vs Tweetbot (Twitterrific 5 | Tweetbot 3 for iOS 7)
Which one is better? In my opinion, at the moment, Twitterrific is better than Tweetbot because of a few simple reasons:
- I can adjust the font size differently from the iOS global font size settings. On Tweetbot, it follows the font settings on iOS 7 – which can be good and bad at the same time.
- Twitterrific is a bit more colorful on the Twitter feed screen, making it more enjoyable to see without being too colorful. It’s also easier to differentiate a mention or a generic tweet from one another. The transparencies and subtle colors here and there make Twitterrific a joy to experience.
- Twitterrific animation is more spot on in a sense that it is cool to see without being too overwhelming. It’s neat and elegant (such as the Twitter bird hatching when you pull to update).
- Twitteriffic is a universal app. You buy it once and you can install it in both your iPhone and iPad. Tweetbot for iPad is still being made and it looks like you’ll have to pay differently (unconfirmed – but it was like that in the past).
- Twitterrific has a Dark theme (Night mode), which can be set to automatically trigger once the clock hits 6 PM (evening). There is a confirmed tweet earlier though that the Dark theme on Tweetbot 3 is coming:
At the same time, however, Tweetbot is better than Twitteriffic because:
- I like the extra tabs because I can add my favorite list, search and a few other tab options on the same main screen/toolbar. Twitterrific only has the Home, Mentions, and Direct Message on the main toolbar. It requires a couple of taps to view your searches or favorite list.
- I like Tweetbot conversation details more than Twitterriffic. It has a few more options and a bit more pleasing to look at.
- Seems that Tweetbot can grab tweets in the background (while you close the app) so they are already loaded when you reopen the app.
- The toolbar is at the bottom, which is easier to reach compared to Twitterrific’s top toolbar.
- If you don’t like colors, Tweetbot looks more minimalist
Both don’t seem to show if someone favorited my tweet (or retweeted).
However as I said, it’s probably too early to finalise my opinion on Tweetbot 3, especially because there are features within the apps themselves that I haven’t really compared yet – such as syncing, muting hashtags, Wi-Fi streaming, etc. At a quick glance, however, I somewhat prefer Twitterrific’s design and interface.
But what do you guys think? Which one is your favorite? Either way, you can’t go wrong shelling your cash for Tweetbot or Twitterriffic.
Tweetbot 3 for Twitter (iPhone & iPod touch) – Tapbots | Twitterrific 5 for Twitter – The Iconfactory
