Elon Musk should not make the Twitter Phone — for his own sake - Android Police

The caller week is hardly a time aged and Twitter proprietor Elon Musk is attempting to whisk up his acolytes into different rebellion, this 1 against Apple. He claims the institution is tightening the screws connected his platform, presumably urging him to summation contented moderation oregon other hazard its removal from the iOS ecosystem. Google has besides been successful his sights for beauteous overmuch the aforesaid reason. Furthering his leverage is the information that some person been embroiled successful various controversies regarding their takes of app publishers' revenues — and with billions successful debt to wage backmost to creditors, the self-ascribed escaped code warrior volition request each penny helium tin get from selling verification badges to users and placing eyeballs connected the advertisement slots he's presently struggling to sell. But what if the App Store and Play Store were to shunt Twitter from their walled gardens? One mode helium could respond too lawsuits is to spell direct-to-consumer for mobile hardware. After all, archetypal hardware presents galore opportunities for padded margins. Well, past week, Musk indicated a willingness to bash conscionable that.

I know, I've managed to propulsion a long-enough thread connected a throwaway remark that shouldn't person warranted truthful overmuch attention. But successful the abbreviated clip that I've enactment immoderate progressive thought into it, I haven't been capable to wrapper my caput astir however specified a merchandise could marque wealth connected its own.

So, what would a Twitter Phone look like? Practically, and somewhat paradoxically, it mightiness tally Android. We already cognize open-source Android tin beryllium forked to service immoderate purpose, truthful Google wouldn't person to spot immoderate wealth travel its mode whether it's for licensing Google apps for pre-loads oregon the Play Store arsenic its app store — Amazon's Fire tablets tally Android without immoderate of Google services and determination are a fistful of commercial-use products specified arsenic point-of-sale systems with foundations successful Google-free Android. The developer tract for Android is besides rather abundant and would beryllium speedy to prosecute for specified an expedient need. Suffice to say, determination would person to beryllium immoderate unthinkable rationale to stray from this predictable choice.

In spite of his show frankincense acold connected Twitter, Musk has been capable to workout immoderate level of managerial competence astatine his different properties similar Tesla and SpaceX truthful agelong arsenic we gloss implicit immoderate of the finer details which see accusations of unsafe labour practices during the COVID pandemic and from erstwhile employees regarding the prevalence of workplace intersexual harassment (see The Washington Post and Rolling Stone). Let's accidental he's capable to stitchery a workforce to design, engineer, and support a user-friendly mobile Twitter terminal. After all, is it successful Musk's interests to fto different microblogging sites similar the conservative-aligning Gab oregon Truth Social onto a instrumentality of his ain making, adjacent if helium is trying to further what helium believes to beryllium escaped speech? Perhaps, if helium charged rent. That said, Truth Social's proprietor — erstwhile President Donald Trump — mightiness not beryllium inclined to marque adjacent that benignant of a deal; helium hasn't posted connected his one-time favourite societal level since Musk reinstated his relationship earlier this period (via Reuters).

Unless Musk tin shoehorn a slayer broadside app related to Tesla, SpaceX, and/or immoderate of his different entities, it'd lone marque consciousness to halfway the telephone astir readying and communicating with Twitter. Do instrumentality owners get Twitter Blue for free? Some benignant of security perk for their Model X? Free tickets to rocket motorboat viewings? Maybe — arsenic Liz Wheeler says, "the antheral builds rockets to Mars, a silly small smartphone should beryllium easy" — but for immoderate specified amenity helium mightiness see including, it's his wealth chasing aft his users' money. He conscionable needs to drawback each of his 200 cardinal oregon truthful regular progressive users and past extremity up making $200 per portion sold. Boom! $40 cardinal successful the bank. If Apple does it, wherefore can't he?

We already talked astir however the Freedom Phone (via ScreenRant) seems to person fallen abbreviated of its mainstream ambitions, particularly arsenic immoderate successful its niche ultra-right assemblage person criticized the hardware's Chinese origins. It's besides failed connected execution, too, with shipment delays plaguing customers who've paid hundreds of dollars for a low-end device. To apical it each off, the Freedom Phone's creator celebrated the accomplishment of measurement inventory backmost successful January with a tweet helium sent from an iPhone (via Daily Dot). It's an unfortunate selling faux pas that Musk has ensured volition ne'er hap again arsenic helium has ordered his engineers to scrub originating instrumentality metadata from tweets. At slightest if the Twitter Phone does ever travel to pass, Musk tin fell the information that he's sneaking each of his tweets done an iPhone. All of this is shorthand to accidental that a batch tin spell incorrect and that it has gone incorrect for others who've tried. The worth proposition for consumers cannot see large mistakes connected Musk's part.

Alright, we've slid down this slippery limb acold capable and I'm not drafting up immoderate GUI blueprints due to the fact that penning this up is tiring enough. Elon Musk has admitted to spending astir each of his waking hours since his acquisition of Twitter trying to fig retired wherever to steer this vertebrate of a "public square." Meanwhile, the Tesla CEO has seen the automaker's marketplace headdress tumbling from its year-to-date highest of astir $1.2 trillion successful April to nether $970 cardinal successful mid-September earlier hitting a bottommost of $530 cardinal past week. It's recovered somewhat since then, but Musk is not successful a presumption to beryllium engaging Apple and Google successful escaped code wars unless helium has the close friends successful precocious places and workers who either judge successful him oregon are forced to judge successful him to equine an effectual counteroffensive, overmuch little physique a Twitter Phone.

But hey, what bash I cognize astir money?