Late in March, Twitter released the first update in some time for its Windows app, revamping it from the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app initially launched in 2015 to a Progressive Web App (PWA). The move to a PWA means Twitter can more quickly implement new features, and the app was finally updated to support more recent tweaks like increased character counts for tweets, bookmarking, and more. But it turns out that Twitter also sees this move as part of a larger push to support not only Windows users, but a more cohesive strategy across all of its platforms.
Progressive Web Apps (PWA): What they are, and what they mean for Microsoft
To coincide with the release of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update and its official support for PWAs, Twitter engineer Charlie Croom officially announced the revamped experience in a new blog post. "This release represents a renewed commitment to Windows that has been long overdue and is part of a longer-term strategy to reach greater feature parity to all of our platforms," Croom said. "We wanted to make sure the app represented a modern Twitter experience, while taking advantage of unique Windows features, like support for Windows native APIs such as share integration, pinned tiles, jump links, and more."
Over the past several weeks, the new Windows experience has seen quite a few updates, which is a good sign after the UWP app languished for some time. Croom says that Twitter will be adding more features in the coming weeks and months, including one of the most requested additions: night mode.
As for those still using prior versions, they're no longer available for download starting today and will no longer be supported starting June 1. Windows 8.1 users are encouraged to either update to Windows 10 to access the new app, or move to using Twitter via a browser. Legacy versions of the official Twitter app for Windows phone will also lose supported as of June 1.
