Will Twitter soon get a short video interface like Instagram and TikTok? Elon Musk makes big revelation

X (formerly Twitter) has been building a new video interface for a while now. But will it create a short video stream just like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts? Elon Musk has shed light on it.

Know if X will also get a short video interface. (AFP)

Elon Musk wants X (formerly known as Twitter) to be an ‘everything app' that can do it all from shopping to payments, and we are beginning to see the first steps in that direction. In the last few weeks, the video viewing experience on the platform has improved considerably. Not only have people seen more video tweets being recommended to them, but now swiping up on a video simply opens another related video that the user can watch. It is somewhat like the kind of infinite scrolling interface that was popularized by TikTok and then adopted by Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. The question is whether X is also headed in the same direction and will it also get a similar short video interface on its platform?

Musk has shed some light on the direction X is taking with regards to its video interface. Yesterday, he tweeted, “Immersive video on X is starting to get good. Just swipe up for next video”. And later he added, “When it is excellent, it will be integrated into the main user interface”.

Will X get a short video interface?

While these tweets do not reveal a lot, there is much to read between the lines. We found out, on testing the video interface on X, that swiping up to go to a different video does indeed work. Right now, it is likely being powered by the same algorithm that recommends tweets to your home page, as the videos we saw were quite similar.

The video length on this interface was not something that we were able to confirm. We saw a maximum video length of just under 3 minutes, however, it is not possible to claim if this interface will support longer videos or not. Notably, X previously announced that verified users will be able to upload videos of a duration of up to 2 hours.

Musk also mentioned that when the interface is improved further, it will be integrated into the main user interface. The wording of it is interesting since it can mean a special widget like Instagram or YouTube where users can see a list of recommended videos and can jump to the short video interface, or it could mean a dedicated tab for videos. But we will have to wait to find out how exactly X integrates videos on the platform. For now, there are some improvements that are needed. For instance, to read or write a comment, you are pushed out of the immersive view and sent to the tweet where you can reply or read messages normally. This ruins the experience somewhat.

Apart from the video interface, X is also planning other video features. Recently, Musk tested out the improved live streaming features on X. Company CEO Linda Yaccarino has also confirmed that the video calling feature will be added to the platform soon.