In the last few weeks, Twitter CEO Elon Musk has publicly raised issues with Apple’s 30% cut it takes on any in-app purchases that happen within iOS apps from the App Store. This relates heavily to Twitter Blue, the company’s subscription service and for the few days it was available on iOS, it cost £6.99/month UK or $7.99/month in the US. However, for everyone who subscribed, Apple was taking 30% of that and Twitter had the rest.
For other companies who have faced this issue before, they have done one of two things:
- Stop taking IAP purchases and use the web instead
- Raise prices on iOS to factor in the Apple 30% cut
A few companies have done the latter before, most notable of which is Google with YouTube Premium. The subscription for YouTube Premium is notably cheaper on the web that it is on the iOS app store and users pay it without realising it can be had for less money on the web. Twitter has been reported to be looking at choosing this model, according to The Information. The report suggests that Twitter Blue will cost $11 per month on iOS and then $7 on the web version of Twitter.
As of writing, Twitter Blue is still unavailable, despite reports that the service would be returning on Friday 9th December. It has been unavailable since 11th November and when it does come back, there will be more badge colours, including gold and grey to denote corporations, government accounts, and individuals.
