Twitter owner Elon Musk has now shown interest to build his own smartphone if Apple & Google drop the social media platform from their app stores. Amid rapid modifications and rule changes, discussions are high that the two most popular mobile operating systems could dump Twitter from their platforms.
A user posted on Twitter, “If Apple & Google boot Twitter from their app stores, Elon Musk should produce his own smartphone. Half the country would happily ditch the biased, snooping iPhone & Android. The man builds rockets to Mars, a silly little smartphone should be easy, right?”
To this, the new Twitter owner replied, “I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone.”
Yoel Roth, who was head of trust and safety at Twitter, warned of catastrophic implications of the recent changes Musk was introducing. In an opinion piece written for New York Times after resignation from the platform he stated, “Failure to adhere to Apple’s and Google’s guidelines would be catastrophic, risking Twitter’s expulsion from their app stores and making it more difficult for billions of potential users to get Twitter’s services.” He added that Apple and Google have huge power to impact the decisions taken by Twitter.
Elon Musk himself has acknowledged the duopoly. In one tweet, he stated, “App store fees are obviously too high due to the iOS/Android duopoly. It is a hidden 30% tax on the Internet.”
