After Twitter determined to unceremoniously ban all third-party apps, a developer who was on the receiving finish of this resolution has taken what it realized from its personal Twitter app, and created a devoted shopper for Mastodon on iPhone and iPad referred to as Ivory.
Developed by Tapbots, consisting of Paul Haddad (opens in new tab) and Mark Jadine (opens in new tab), Ivory appears paying homage to Tweetbot, its earlier third-party app for Twitter, however appears and feels way more polished than different makes an attempt at Mastodon apps we have seen in latest months.
It is available for $1.99 / £1.99 / AU$2.39 (opens in new tab) as a month-to-month subscription, or $19.99 / £14.99 / AU$21.99 for a yr, however you possibly can join a 7-day trial to see what you assume.
Apps equivalent to Mammoth, and Mastodon’s personal app, have been wonderful, however Tapbots has its personal type, which has been carried throughout all of its apps, equivalent to Calcbot and Pastebot, and it is because of this that Ivory has develop into my default Mastodon app (opens in new tab) for the foreseeable.
Tweetbot died so Ivory may dwell
For those who’ve used Tweetbot earlier than, Ivory will really feel very acquainted to you; however even when you have not, it is laid out like a Twitter app, so somebody coming to Mastodon as a brand new consumer will really feel at residence. You have acquired a bar for notifications, mentions, search and your profile, however you possibly can customise three of those if you’d like simpler entry for filters, favourite toots and extra.
There are lots extra methods to make Ivory your individual, equivalent to by altering themes and coloration kinds, alongside many various icons, together with one which honors Tweetbot. You can also make the app your individual with all of those choices, which ought to attraction to somebody shifting over from Twitter to Mastodon.
There are additionally loads of widgets which you could place in your iPhone and iPad residence screens, so you possibly can show your newest followers, pictures out of your timeline, statistics and way more. Each considered one of these widgets is effectively carried out, and so they make a powerful case that they need to seem on macOS quickly.
There’s additionally a wise ‘Open in Ivory’ extension in Safari for when somebody sends you a hyperlink to Mastodon over iMessage or WhatsApp for instance, so Ivory will be capable of open the toot inside Mastodon, saving you the difficulty.
For a model 1.0 launch, there’s lots to get pleasure from right here when you’re on Mastodon, however it’s not a shock. Tapbots has taken what it realized from Tweetbot and carried that into Ivory, and it reveals. It feels as if Ivory has set a typical for different third-party apps to aspire to, and proven the way in which ahead for builders – that’s, by specializing in their very own type, relatively than attempting to adapt to Mastodon as they go.
It is a formidable launch that is already on my iPhone and iPad – and I would like to see a macOS model subsequent.
