On Friday, Twitter announced that it would abandon its lesser-loved Mac app, directing users to Twitter.com instead. The company declared that it will refocus its efforts on “a great Twitter experience that’s consistent across platforms” rather than continuing development for Twitter for Mac, a message that doesn’t sound great for TweetDeck lovers. The Twitter for Mac app no longer lives in the Mac App Store, though its one and a half star rating lives on in the hearts and minds of its few tenacious users, maybe.
Over the years, Twitter has often seen its own official app eclipsed by slicker, more feature-rich third-party clients, which it sometimes buys up. Twitter bought the software that evolved into Twitter for Mac (formerly known as Tweetie for Mac) back in 2010, though it’s largely believed to have languished following the acquisition.
Many Twitter users are expressing their concerns that the company could similarly sunset TweetDeck, a well-loved client with multi-column organization, list-making tools and robust notifications that the company acquired for $40 million back in 2011. For a normal company, ending a product that everyone feels pretty good about wouldn’t be a likely potential outcome, but Twitter isn’t exactly known for making choices in lockstep with the desires of its opinionated user base.
While most people aren’t likely to mourn the passing of Twitter for Mac, the choice does highlight the gaping hole where a solid multi-platform client should go. Considering its resources and the lessons the company should have learned from unnecessary bickering with its development community over the years, it doesn’t seem like a big ask.
