Twitter Testing 4k Images and Youtube Support

Twitter has confirmed in a series of tweets that it is in the process of testing some long-awaited improvements to how it displays images and videos. This is everything you need to know so you’ll be informed and ready when the changes go live for all audiences.

Full-Size Images in the Twitter Timeline

For single image tweets only, images will no longer be cropped when displayed in the timeline. What you see in the composer preview is what the tweet will look like in the timeline after it is published.

Now testing on Android and iOS: when you Tweet a single image, how the image appears in the Tweet composer is how it will look on the timeline –– bigger and better. pic.twitter.com/izI5S9VRdX

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 10, 2021

4k Image Support

Twitter has a test pool of users who can upload and view high-resolution, 4k images on Android and iOS. Support for high-quality photos is huge for artists, photographers, marketers, reporters, and anyone else who relies on visual media.

To see if you’re in the test group, head to the Data Usage section of your Twitter app:

Have a collection of higher res photos waiting to be shared? We’re testing ways for you to upload and view 4K images on Android and iOS.

If you're in the test, update your high-quality image preferences in “Data usage” settings to get started. pic.twitter.com/EgW5fsb8Z8

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 10, 2021

Youtube Videos Embedded in the Twitter Timeline

Currently, when a user tweets a Youtube video, they have to leave the Twitter conversation to watch the video. Twitter is testing making those videos playable from the Home timeline without leaving the conversation.

This is significant because it allows Twitter users to bypass Twitter’s aggressive video compression by uploading to Youtube at a higher resolution than posting the Youtube link to their Twitter timeline.

Currently, Twitter is testing embedded Youtube links on iOS only.

Starting today on iOS, we’re testing a way to watch YouTube videos directly in your Home timeline, without leaving the conversation on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/V4qzMJMEBs

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 18, 2021

Other Features Coming

In addition to these image and video enhancements, the social network has Twitter Spaces, and the Super Follow feature coming soon.

Currently, there is no way to opt-in to be a tester for these features; they are rolling out for groups of new users in waves in the coming weeks.