X Adds Streamlined Reply Option for DMs, Shares Details of Coming Audio and Video Calls

X has rolled out a brand new functionality for DM interaction, with the flexibility to now swipe right on any DM in a sequence to directly reply to it.

As you may see in this instance, the brand new reply process makes it slightly easier to answer any message in a chat. X also added the capability to answer direct to a particular message inside a DM thread back in May, and this latest swipe-to-reply UI will enhance that capability much more.

You can too still add a general reply by typing a response into the text bubble at the underside of the display, so that you don’t have to answer a particular message by swiping on it. However it’s an alternative choice to assist improve the method, which could possibly be handy for streamlining your chats.

So, cool, right? It’s one other element to X DMs, which were also recently made to only accept non-follower messages from verified users because the default, while verified users may now send encrypted DMs too, but not non-paying users.

On this sense, it’s somewhat surprising that X is even allowing non-payers to make use of this latest swipe-to-reply functionality, but provided that the overwhelming majority of X users haven’t signed up for X Premium (formerly “Twitter Blue”), it probably wouldn’t be seeing much use in any respect if it were restricted.

But overall, X is seemingly seeking to make DMs a much bigger focus, with group chats one other element that Elon and Co. want to emphasise moving forward, as they lean into broader social media engagement trends, and construct on X’s private communities.

X can also be seeking to roll out audio and video calls soon, as an expansion of its messaging tools, but there’s no word as yet on whether that too might be an X Premium exclusive.

Musk posted this week that X’s video and audio calling tools might be available on Android, iOS, and web, with no phone number needed, with X acting, Musk says, as “the effective global address book”.

Unsure how that applies exactly, provided that X has only a fraction of the audience reach that Facebook or WhatsApp has, but Musk seemingly believes that X can act as a greater contact platform for direct calls, as a consequence of the quantity of individuals you may connect with within the app.

X video and audio calls won’t, nevertheless, be encrypted, a minimum of not at first.

X has actually been attempting to push DM interaction for a while, even before Musk purchased the platform, with previous management also seeking to emphasize DMs as a key customer support option, which never really caught on in a giant way.

However the addition of audio and video calls could change this significantly, while X is clearly seeking to construct on the present messaging tools to maximise utility.

Which could make it a much bigger factor moving forward. And in that context, perhaps smaller tweaks like with the ability to swipe to answer will actually find yourself being more precious than you may expect.

Either way, X DMs are evolving, and it’s price keeping tabs on what impacts that has on broader usage.