Twitter's testing a new search bar at the top of the iOS app's Home tab

Twitter (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Twitter is testing a change that will make searching for tweets easier and more obvious.
A new search bar is being tested at the top of the Home tab in the Twitter for iOS app.
Search currently lives in its own tab.

Short-form social network Twitter is currently testing a change that it hopes will make it easier for people to search for tweets. The company has announced a new test that will move the search function to a new bar at the top of the Home tab on iOS.

Currently, anyone searching for tweets has to use a special search tab by tapping an icon at the bottom of the Twitter app. That's changing, although it's only happening for those who are part of the test pool right now. If all goes well we can expect it to roll out to everyone eventually.

The move was announced by the Twitter Support account and was accompanied by a handy GIF to show exactly what's changing.

Search on the Home tab, let's gooooo

Now testing on iOS: some of you will see a new search bar or 🔍 icon on the Home tab to easily search Twitter right when you open the app. pic.twitter.com/2B40tlf62ASearch on the Home tab, let's gooooo

Now testing on iOS: some of you will see a new search bar or 🔍 icon on the Home tab to easily search Twitter right when you open the app. pic.twitter.com/2B40tlf62A— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) January 10, 2022 January 10, 2022

There's no telling exactly how to get into the test pool although you will likely need to have the latest version of Twitter installed via the App Store. Twitter doesn't always need to issue an app update for changes like this to kick in so it's possible you already have the new interface — try force quitting the app to see if that kicks things into gear.

This of course only applies to the official Twitter app. I still wouldn't suggest that this is the best iPhone app for reading tweets but there is no denying that it's the only way to enjoy all the latest Twitter features.

The official Twitter app can be downloaded from the App Store now.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.