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It is official: Twitter is now named X on App Store. This signals not only the full transformation of the old blue bird app into Elon Musk’s X brand but so as the interesting treatment of Apple towards the billionaire’s business.
The Change to X
These huge changes started with the brand logo of the platform. iOS users started seeing the change last week, with the Twitter bird logo changed to the black X icon on App Store. At that time, however, the app’s name remained the same, even on its July 28 update. As pointed out by some users, this is probably due to Apple Store Connect rules, which prevent developers from naming their apps with only one character.
Well, that seems to have changed today with X.
Now, the application has fully embraced new branding under Musk’s leadership. In the App Store, the company pushed the latest 10.0 update to the app, giving it a new name and some improvements.
“We made improvements and squashed bugs so X is even better for you,” the update description reads.
Aside from the brand and the logo, X Corp. has also updated other details of the app on the App Store to help it complement its current branding. It also now includes a new tagline, “Blaze your glory!”
The in-app purchase offerings of the app (e.g., Twitter Blue and Boosted Tweet package) remain unchanged on the App Store.
The Road To Obtain the X Brand
As mentioned by TechCrunch, the move follows Musk’s company’s decision to snatch the @X handle from its original owner on the platform. X Corp. reportedly didn’t provide any compensation to the individual, except for some merchandise and an HQ tour.
Now, it seems the company did it again with a developer who first used the X branding on App Store.
The app, which was formerly called X, is a note application. It reportedly used Unicode characters to evade Apple’s app naming rules, allowing it to name itself as a single letter X before. However, over the weekend, the app was rebranded to a simple name, “Note,” with some description saying it is unrelated to Musk’s X.
[We are not affiliated with Twitter/X and will soon give our app a new name.]
The Power of X Corp.
There are no details on how Musk managed to obtain the X from Note (formerly X on App Store), but it is certain that Apple made a huge contribution to this. One X user, Nick Sheriff, brought this idea to the platform, noting the billionaire’s wealth also allows him to do this.
Curious if the app title update resulted from litigation by Twitter, or if it was a simpler decision to avoid going viral on social media as “X.”
Musk lacks absolute IP rights to “X,” since they don’t have certificates tied to an IP portfolio, so he can’t enforce this, but Apple’s legal approach with important partners is also politically motivated.
However, the issue is that neither Twitter nor the individual owns rights to “X,” evident from the app name change.
Musk’s vast wealth enables him to litigate in ways that surpass most teams.
This is likely why he didn’t take any prior measures to mitigate the situation; he simply didn’t care about the risks.
After all, these risks can lead to brand erosion ( bad press ) and negative financial impacts, both of which he will recover from over time.
Elon Musk’s and Apple’s Relationship
This is not the first time Apple expressed its consideration for Musk. Weeks ago, the Cupertino company seemed to have made an exception for Musk’s Tesla app on App Store after it rolled out a feature that violated the store policies.
According to Gizmodo’s Thomas Germain, the new feature was added to the Tesla app’s “Connectivity Packages. Called “View Live Camera,” this should allow iOS customers to access the in-car camera of their Tesla EV using their iPhones. However, the report noted that the feature does not offer Apple’s In-App Purchase as a payment option, adding users can only use their credit card.
Despite this and the “strict” image Apple is trying to build in front of other app developers, the violation was treated with tolerance by the iPhone maker. The reason behind this is unclear, but it can be recalled that Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook met in November 2022 after the latter invited the Tesla CEO. Prior to the meeting, Musk tweeted choosing “going to war” over paying a commission to Apple, but this behavior interestingly improved after the said event.
And now, this favorable relationship between Musk and Apple seems to continue with a new favor granted by the latter to the X app. There are no answers on how Apple benefits from this, but it will certainly ask Musk to pay his debt in the future.
