Elon Musk Says Pay More For Twitter If You Have An iPhone! Why Fight vs Apple Is Worth It

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Twitter Inc.'s first tweet under the ownership of the world's richest man was the announcement of a widely anticipated upgrade to its subscription feature. It was also a shot across the bow of the planet's biggest company, marking a possible showdown that could end up bringing much-needed change to the mobile app industry.

Twitter Blue will relaunch Monday with a handful of features that Elon Musk and his team are betting will justify the monthly fee: A blue checkmark, longer videos, higher visibility, and an edit button. More importantly, though, Twitter announced two prices for the same service: $8 per month if you subscribe on its website, but $11 if users choose to sign up via Apple Inc.'s iOS platform. That 37.5% markup is a not-so-gentle dig at Apple's 30% cut of the subscription fees which pass through iOS and its App Store.

For years, app developers and content providers have bemoaned this “Apple Tax” as too high and too restrictive. If you buy an app, purchase an upgrade, or subscribe to ongoing services including streaming music or video, then Apple collects 30% (the fee is discounted to 15% for developers who bring in less than $1 million in a year). That means the company will get $3.30 per month for every person who signs up to Twitter Blue via Apple. And it's why Twitter decided to dissuade people from using Apple and sign up at its own site. To be fair, Google Play Store collects similar commissions with its own set of restrictions.

Musk brought this fee to the attention of his 120 million followers last month, though he's among many industry executives who've known and complained about it for years.

In August 2020, Epic Games Inc. did more than whine. The publisher of hit games including Fortnite and