Tumblr 3 for iOS catches up to Android counterpart, and then some

There was nothing really wrong with Tumblr’s previous iOS app. It offered all the features you’d expect, such as the ability to access your dashboard, create a post, manage multiple blogs and view and reply to messages. The interface was straightforward, intuitive and unmistakably Tumblr.

Version 3.0, however, is just so much better in every way. It’s been rebuilt from the ground up, so is faster, sleeker, easier to use and more in line with its Android counterpart, which itself was updated a couple of months ago.

There are four buttons at the bottom of the screen for Dashboard, Tags, Account, and Post. Dashboard displays your previous entries and you can quickly edit, delete or reblog each one. Scrolling downwards will take you all the way to the start, and your very first item. Loading each chunk of postings takes a little while, but it’s still reasonably speedy.

The Tags screen brings up a random selection of blogs to explore, and typing some keywords into the search box will display any matching posts. The Account page lets you switch to a different blog, and manage notifications, followers and likes.

Tapping the Post button will call up a black screen with icons for Text, Photo, Quote, Link, Chat and Video. These are colourful and swish in from the sides in a slightly hypnotic manner. If you need to post something quickly, and don’t have time to mess around, swiping the Post button upwards will open the camera so you can take a picture. Swiping left will open the Text Post screen.

Other smart new features include support for Spotify, an updated image viewer that can display high-res photos, and offline support so you can create a post or like or reblog something, even if you’re in the middle of nowhere without a connection. The app will sync everything when you’re next back online.

All in all, it’s a great release unless you’re an iPad user as it doesn’t really scale up all that well. Hopefully this just means that a dedicated version for the larger screen is finally on its way.