Not really. The UX is still very, very far, especially on the Android version that has been lagging behind their iOS version by quite a lot (6-8 months, usually). It's fine if you like it. But don't pretend it's anywhere near as good as Twitter's.

On the second point, It is because of it. I didn't say despite it. It's a lot easier do focus on the UX, when you don't need to spend the time and resources to decentralize the app from their own infrastructure, build self custody solutions, no central cache, implement outbox, help users control their own data, etc, like we all try to do. It's a choice they made that I would definitely never make. To me, there is no point in moving people from a centralized company to another.