On the 8th of December, a reporter for The Information tweeted that Apple users would possibly have to pay $11 for the IOS app and $8 on Twitter’s website.
Scoop: Twitter has told employees that it will change the price of Twitter Blue to $7 on the web and $11 for iOS, after Musk complained about Apple's 30% fee for in-app purchases. https://t.co/fI8czYoEdy
— Erin Woo (@erinkwoo) December 8, 2022
In a series of tweets, Elon Musk complained about issues between Twitter and Apple, which led to their withdrawing advertisement from Twitter. One of the things he complained about was the 30% fee for in-app purchases that Apple levies on their app developers.
Later, Musk was given a tour of Apple’s HQ. he even got to post a tweet with Apple’s pond in view, which led to him tweeting that they had resolved their issues and that Apple wouldn’t be banning Twitter from its app store. Apple even resumed advertising fully on Twitter, claiming that they paused adverts due to the Club Q shooting. Apparently, Apple would rather not see their advertisement beside a significant tragedy.
Apple is now one of Twitter’s largest Ad customers. But it seems the 30% commission Apple expected from Twitter wasn’t resolved since it’s still being brought up.
Elon Musk took control of Twitter and rolled out a verification system. This led to identity problems on the site, so Twitter chose to change its verification system with multiple colors, differentiating individuals from establishments.
And this was charged around $8 per month on the Twitter website. So increasing the cost for Apple IOS alone to $11 is possibly a kickback against Apple’s policy or a way to keep shedding light on the plights of fellow developers.
Or it might be a tactic to drive traffic to their website instead. There has yet to be a word if this price change is real or if it would also affect the Android OS. Either way, Apple wouldn’t be getting any 30% from twitter’s platform that they don’t own.
With how seriously the problem between Twitter and Apple grew, this solution is much better than banning Twitter from the Apple store and Elon Musk having to create his mobile device. Both Google and Apple are yet to comment on the situation.
But users of Twitter were quick to react to the news. Some believe the speculated pricing strategy is against Apple’s terms of service since he is not bypassing Apple, but placing the 30% cost on Apple’s users instead.
It is also still being determined what would happen to users who decide not to subscribe to Twitter Blue.
