Twitter starts test with audio tweets

Twitter has started a test where users can post tweets with audio. That’s in addition to tweets with pictures. The option should be available to all iOS users in the coming weeks, the company says.

As of now, there is a group of users of Twitter’s iOS app who will see a new icon next to the camera icon when creating a new tweet, says Twitter. Following on from the original 140-character tweet, a single audio tweet is limited to 140 seconds. If users want to say more, it will be done in a thread.

The option is only on original tweets and not on replies or retweets, the company says. Users who play the audio will see the profile picture as a static image. As they scroll through, the audio continues to play with a progress bar at the bottom of the screen. The audio continues to play even when users close the app.

The intent is to get people to say more than fits in a written tweet, the company said. As a result, audio tweets should provide a “more human experience,” says Twitter. When the audio recording feature will work on Android and web version is unknown.