Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Twitter for iOS adds 3D Touch support functions for link previews

twitter suspends extremist accounts app
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Twitter has quietly rolled out an exclusive feature for Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus users. A new update for the official Twitter iOS app adds 3D Touch integration.

Until now, 3D Touch functionality on the Twitter app was limited to quick actions on the home screen. With the update installed, users with the latest iPhone models can now bring up 3D Touch peek and pop previews for Twitter profiles and links.

The new functions are a handy way to quickly examine any media on the Twitter app without clicking through to it. The 3D Touch peek preview works when you press on profiles, images, and external links, reports MacStories. By swiping a peek upwards, you’ll have access to all the regular options to share a tweet, including direct messaging and the standard iOS extensions.

Additionally, in the case of profile peeks, the same upwards swipe action will give you options to either mute, block, or report the selected user. The new functionality is thus far relegated to tweets in your timelines, and does not work in the Notifications tab.

Nonetheless, it should make for a faster browsing experience for iPhone 6S and 6S Plus users by eliminating pesky loading times for certain types of media. The former have become an important part of the Twitter experience, as the app has increasingly becomes a place for users to access news. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that the majority of U.S. adults now access news via social media. Twitter came in third place on the report in terms of the amount of its users that get news on the platform. Nobody realizes this more than Twitter itself, which recently changed its iTunes App Store category to from “social networking” to “news.”

Editors' Recommendations

Saqib Shah
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Saqib Shah is a Twitter addict and film fan with an obsessive interest in pop culture trends. In his spare time he can be…
I found 16 new widgets for iOS 17 that you have to try
A selection of widgets on an iPhone home screen.

Widgets have long been a popular feature on iPhones. Since the release of iOS 17, they have become more interactive, providing a more engaging experience. Interactive widgets allow you to perform important actions from your iPhone's home screen. For example, you can complete your to-do lists, play and pause media and podcasts, control your smart home devices, and much more — all without opening any apps.

Interactive widgets are not limited to Apple's built-in apps on iOS 17. Third-party developers are also adopting this new feature. Although not all apps offer interactive widgets, there are plenty that do. Here are a few interactive widgets that are worth exploring.
Calculator 17

Read more
Your iPhone just got a new iOS update, and you should download it right now
iPhone 15 Pro display with iPhone 15 Pro Max in background.

Apple has just released a new security update, iOS 17.4.1. This comes a little over two weeks after iOS 17.4, which was a big update. iOS 17.4.1 doesn't add any new features, but it's still an important update you'll want to download as soon as you can.

With iOS 17.4.1, Apple states that the update “provides important bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.” Apple doesn’t mention any specifics of these bug fixes, but more details on what this security update addresses may be revealed at a later date.

Read more
How to use iOS 17 FaceTime gestures (and what they look like)
Video reactions in macOS Sonoma, with the balloons effect in use.

iOS 17 brought a number of new iPhone features and optimizations to the table, and one of these tweaks adds a few cool layers of entertainment to your FaceTime experience. It’s called FaceTime gestures, and once it’s set up correctly, you’ll be able to send 3D animations to your friends and family during FaceTime video calls. You’ll even be able to trigger the animations with physical gestures!

Getting your phone ready for action doesn’t take much time or effort, but we put this guide together to walk you through the process nonetheless. 
How to make a FaceTime gesture in iOS 17

Read more