Twitter will charge more to iPhone “snobs” who want Twitter Blue subscription

The “verified user” badge will cost even more if you’re an iPhone user, with the cost of the Twitter Blue subscription to include the 30% commission due to Apple.

Elon Musk’s company is thus trying to “solve” the problem of Apple’s overly high fees for transactions brokered through the AppStore in a way that portrays the iOS developer as indirectly exploiting iPhone users. So while on Android you can order a Twitter Blue subscription for $7/month, on iPhone the same service will cost $11, with Twitter leaving it up to users to decide whether it’s worth paying the Apple “fee” themselves.

Until Elon Musk’s “revolt,” Apple was banking on the exclusivity of its only official iOS app store to impose virtually any terms it wanted on app developers, leaving only moving business to rival platform Android as an alternative. 99% of the time, app users never got to hear about the “struggle” for survival of developers, who had to share 15% or 30% of their earnings with Apple, depending on their loyalty to Apple. Thus, the commission charged is 30% in the first year after the introduction of a subscription processed through Apple’s payment platform, and 15% for those who “survive” and wish to continue their contractual relationship with Apple.

Returning to Twitter, the company announced the new Twitter Blue subscription with a $7.99 fee, before CEO Elon Musk discovered that he must pay 30% of the money collected from iPhone users in fees owed to Apple.

If Twitter chose to simply include Apple’s commission in the initial subscription cost, the price would go up to $10.38. But this isn’t about fairness, it’s about the argument Elon Musk is trying to make as stingingly for Apple’s image as possible by making iPhone users pay for the “arrogance” of their favorite phone brand.

The announcement comes shortly after Musk announced that Apple, the main customer for Twitter ads, has “fully returned” to the platform.