Twitter Cancels 'Fleets' Just Months After Launch
Twitter in November debuted a new ephemeral tweet option called "Fleets," with the feature designed to compete with Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, Snapchat, and more.
![twitter fleet example](https://images.macrumors.com/t/cGP3XoN5t9fi6_qB9sMhGDusjtg=/400x0/article-new/2020/11/twitter-fleet-example.jpg?lossy)
Fleets apparently did not catch on, because Twitter today announced that Fleets are being discontinued as of August 3, which is less than a year after the feature launched.
Twitter says that it had hoped Fleets would help people "feel more comfortable joining the conversation on Twitter," but there hasn't been an increase of people joining Twitter with Fleets as Twitter expected.
We're evolving what Twitter is, and trying bigger, bolder things to serve the public conversation. A number of these updates, like Fleets, are speculative and won't work out. We'll be rigorous, evaluate what works, and know when to move on and focus elsewhere. If we're not evolving our approach and winding down features every once in a while - we're not taking big enough chances. We'll continue to build new ways to participate in conversations, listening to feedback and changing direction when there may be a better way to serve people using Twitter.
Going forward, Twitter says that it will use what it learned from Fleets to focus on creating other ways for people to "join the conversation" and will find new ways to address "what holds people back from participating on Twitter."
Twitter also plans to test updates to the Tweet composer and camera that will incorporate Fleets features like text formatting, full screen camera for photo taking, and GIF stickers.
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...