Platform X Stops Mac Application, IPad App Becomes Solid Substitute

Platform X now supports the use of the iPad application (photo: x @Wavifully)

JAKARTA - After stopping Twitter's formerly known application X for Macs this week, X is now supporting the use of the unmodified iPad app on Macs with Apple Silicon, a feature introduced to macOS Big Sur. Although initially this app had problems where users would be suspended for using it, it seems that now the app is actually safe to use.

Twitter for Mac was originally launched in 2019 along with Catalyst's new framework on macOS Catalina. This version allows Twitter engineers to use most of the code bases of iOS apps without much modification for macOS compatibility. However, after Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, Twitter's development for Mac was completely discontinued.

Penghentian pengembangan ini menyebabkan aplikasi tersebut semakin tidak terhubung dengan layanan Twitter lainnya. Pengguna harus membuka aplikasi web jika ingin membaca postingan lebih dari 280 karakter. Selain itu, aplikasi ini tidak mendukung halaman "For You" yang baru dan tidak memiliki dukungan untuk verifikasi apa pun setelah tank "warisan" dihapus pada April 2023, dan aplikasi tersebut tidak pernah mendukung Twitter Blue.

After nearly two years without an update, the app was finally removed from the App Store this week, with a hat that forced users out of the app. While users can still close their hopes and continue to use the app, it's now clear that the old Catalyst app won't be supported anymore. Shortly after its deletion, the iPad app appeared on the Mac App Store.

The iPad application on Mac with Apple Silicon

When Apple announced the Mac transition to Apple Silicon at WWDC 2020, they announced that Macs with Apple Silicon would be able to run any iPhone or iPad apps, as long as developers don't choose not to participate. Unfortunately, most developers choose not to participate. There are several ways to insert the iOS app to Mac, but they don't always work.

Unlike Catalyst, no modification is required to get the iPad app on the Mac App Store, as Macs with Apple Silicon support all iOS frameworks. While perfect experience isn't guaranteed right away, the app is generally quite stable. The iPad app on Macs with Apple Silicon is a great way for small teams to support Macs natively without the need to dedicate significant time, especially after large numbers of layoffs occurred on engineering teams X at the end of 2022 and early 2023.

X for iPad

The iPad app running on Mac provides a very similar experience to the iPad and doesn't use a lot of resources. The app also supports push notifications well, which never work consistently on web apps.

The old Twitter app for Macs is becoming problematic over time, especially as it is not actively updated and is increasingly out of sync with server backend changes. For example, the profile banner is no longer published, looking for tweets doesn't produce anything, and sometimes the app freezes.

With the new iPad application, users can take advantage of Twitter changes over the last 2 years. Features such as bookmark searches, X Articles, Maker Subscriptions, replies/reactions in DM, and all features of the X Premium customization are now available natively on Mac.

However, the iPad app is not perfect. As some users have shown, the new iPad app does not support timeline streaming. In the old Mac app, users can keep the timeline pinned above, and new tweets will appear without the need to interact with the app. In addition, many interactions that are usually accessed with right-click are actually behind the old press, which does not match expectations on Mac. There are also bugs where typing in the search bar does not display what is typed, although it may be caused by beta macOS Sequoia.

Overall, it would be better if there were Mac apps that were actually optimized again for X. However, users no longer have to deal with unoptimized web apps that use 1-2GB of RAM per tab, even in Safari.

The issue of suspension also needs to be mentioned. Although this "bug" is quite strange, the wrong suspension is corrected within 24 hours. It's unclear how this application was released without any employees trying it first, but that's how it is.