Tumblr, the popular blogging service, has issued a major update to its iOS app that includes support for high resolution photos and Spotify integration. How does the update work in practice?

There's added functionality: swiping up on the camera button brings up the camera, and swiping left brings the ability to post text.

High resolution images can now be viewed in an updated image viewer, while offline support is arguably a huge feature: it means users can blog, reblog and comment on other blogs when offline. It also means users who worry about going over a data limit can share the burden over Wi-Fi, which is usually uncapped. However, the actions aren't submitted until the device is reconnected to the Web and content will need to be downloaded before it can be read.

It's useful for managing accounts on the move, though; Tumblr accounts are often built around short posts, so offline posts cater perfectly to that type of content.

Spotify integration allows users to share music over the service, building on the partnership the two companies made in April 2012. Spotify currently integrates Facebook, allowing users to see friends' profiles and playlists with the option to subscribe to individual playlists. Music can also be shared directly to the social network, and users can click on the content to open or download Spotify.

Similar to Twitter's hashtag search, users can now search via tags. That means topics can be searched for very specifically, especially when a big event is happening such as an impending game release.

Notifications are now in a single place on the dashboard. On the app, users see six icons: Text, Photo, Quote, Link, Chat and Video when posting.

The only downside is that an iPad app is still not available, which seems like a no-brainer considering the large screen and Retina support. Services built around sharing always work well on larger screens, though it's important to stress the phone app is a huge improvement from speed to design to functionality over the previous version.

Tumblr 3.0 is available to download now from the iOS App Store.