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New Twitter (with filters) not available yet for iPhone

Twitter said the new version of its app with built-in filters -- which takes on Instagram directly -- would be ready "starting today." But the iPhone version isn't in the App Store yet.

Daniel Terdiman Former Senior Writer / News
Daniel Terdiman is a senior writer at CNET News covering Twitter, Net culture, and everything in between.
Daniel Terdiman
2 min read
Twitter on Monday released a new version of its mobile app that allows users to filter their photos, a step that directly challenges Instagram. However, while Twitter said the version would be available for both Android and iPhone, the iPhone version has yet to appear in the App Store. Twitter

Twitter said today that it was releasing a new version of its iPhone and Android apps that would allow users to filter their photos directly from their devices, a move that directly challenges Instagram's stranglehold on artistic photo sharing. But while the new Android version is already available, the iPhone version is not.

In its blog post announcing the new versions, Twitter said that, "Starting today, you'll be able to edit and refine your photos, right from Twitter. The latest versions of Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android introduce a few new ways to enhance the images you tweet." The move had been expected since word leaked out this weekend that the new features were imminent.

Later in the post, Twitter included a link to download the new version from Google Play and Apple's App Store. But the iPhone version isn't available using that method, nor by going directly to the App Store. The most recent version available through the App Store was released on November 15.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment tonight.

It seems possible that Twitter had every intention of releasing both new versions today, but that Apple held up the iPhone version for some reason. Either way, though, iPhone users hoping to be able to use Twitter's app to filter photos -- and share them -- are going to have to wait.

Twitter's move to release a new version of its mobile app that lets users filter their photos is its latest salvo in the ongoing, and intensifying, battle between Twitter and Instagram. For months, the two services have been picking away at features that made their apps work together. Most recently, Instagram disabled Twitter cards, meaning that photos created in Instagram can no longer be viewed in tweets.

In explaining that move, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said that he wants his users to focus more on using that service on the Web. But it's also clear he -- and perhaps Facebook, which bought Instagram earlier this year -- wants to wean the service's users off of Twitter.

The new version of Twitter for iPhone is likely to be available in a matter of hours. But it's odd that more than eight hours after announcing the new tool, the updated app has yet to be appear on the App Store.

Update (Tuesday, 12:06 p.m. PT): The updated version of Twitter for iPhone, which includes the photo-filtering feature, is now available in Apple's App Store.