Twitter is optimizing its Android app for tablets, starting with Samsung devices and available to all by year end

Twitter today announced it is updating its Android app with optimizations for tablets. Unfortunately, the new version will first be available on Samsung tablets, starting today with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1-2014 Edition, and it will only come to other Android tablets by the end of the year.

In the new landscape view, a single tap lets you expand tweets on the right side to show photos, videos, and article previews. A second tap shows you photos, lets you play videos, and displays text from the Web in fullscreen mode.

Twitter also worked with Samsung to build out some new features, and the exclusivity was likely part of the deal. Samsung helped Twitter add a multi-screen view, a new widget, and a canvas for creating illustrations.

As you can see above, the new multi-screen view lets you run Twitter and another app at the same time. You can read tweets while browsing the Web, streaming music and videos, or just fiddling around with whatever else is on your Android tablet.

Next up, Twitter is introducing an Android widget that brings tweets, photos, and videos directly to your tablet. It also shows you country-specific breaking news, music, sports, and photos. You don’t have to login, but if you do, you’ll get a more personalized experience that lets you favorite or retweet directly from the widget.

Last, but certainly not least, Twitter for Android now gives you a canvas to create and tweet colorful illustrations. You can even draw directly on photos from your photo gallery and then share them directly to your followers. Here’s where the Samsung partnership comes in strong: you can doodle with the S-Pen that comes with the Galaxy Note 10.1-2014 Edition.

It’s still disappointing that this new version isn’t available for everyone. Even a date to look forward to would have been appreciated, but Twitter wouldn’t give one. We’ll let you know once you can get the new Twitter for Android without buying a Samsung tablet.

Top Image Credit: Scott Beale/Laughing Squid