Elon Musk’s new Twitter Blue

The official confirmation is here: Twitter Blue, according to the decisions of new CEO Elon Musk, will be re-launched today, 12 December. 

It was announced on Twitter by the platform’s official account: 

we’re relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday – subscribe on web for $8/month or on iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark 🧵 pic.twitter.com/DvvsLoSO50

— Twitter (@Twitter) December 10, 2022

Specifically, Twitter Blue will have three main differences from the first version of the subscription, announced on 9 November: higher monthly cost on iOS, verification by phone number, and multicolored badges.

Elon Musk himself commented on the new launch, announcing: 

And many other features to come!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2022

All the main new features of Musk’s Twitter Blue 

Twitter Blue was exclusively the subscription version of the social network before the arrival of Elon Musk, the new CEO who bought the social platform for $44 billion.

Before him, certain requirements had to be met to get the blue badge of a verified account. Now, the new owner decided to allow everyone to receive the blue badge by paying $7.99/month, but the first attempt failed miserably. In fact, given the increase in fake profiles, the California-based company suspended the subscription.

Subsequently, a decision was made to relaunch Twitter Blue later today. As anticipated, there will be three main changes. Specifically, iOS users will have to pay $11/month to compensate for the 30% fee charged by Apple for in-app purchases.

In fact, Musk had criticized the “fee,” but later resolved the misunderstanding with Tim Cook. Alternatively, it will be possible to subscribe on Twitter’s website for $8/month. In addition, support for Android will be added in the future and Twitter Blue will be extended to other countries as well as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Those who have already subscribed on iOS will later be able to choose the web version and save $3/month. With Twitter Blue, blue badges will be awarded to private users, but verification by phone number will be required first. Users will be able to change their name, handle and profile photo, but will temporarily lose the blue badge until the next verification.

As far as businesses are concerned, they will receive a gold badge instead, which will replace the Official badge. In addition, a gray badge for governments will also arrive by the end of the week. Features exclusive to Twitter Blue include an Edit button for tweets, 1080p video uploads, and access to read mode.

According to some sources, the price change is likely a result of the percentage Apple charges for in-app purchases, i.e., additional services that can be bought directly from within the apps. As of today, Apple withholds 30% of revenues from iOS apps, while web purchases, using a regular computer browser, do not result in withholding for Twitter. 

Late last month, Musk had criticized Apple for its transaction fees and threatened to remove Twitter from the App Store. As anticipated, the matter was resolved following a meeting with Tim Cook on 1 December at the Apple Park campus.

Twitter Blue Lab: what it is and how it works

According to Twitter’s official website, the platform is working on new ways to take the Twitter experience to the next level, and Twitter Blue is just the beginning. Indeed, as reported above, this paid monthly subscription offers exclusive access to premium features that allow you to personalize your experience on the social network. 

Currently, Twitter Blue is only available in the countries mentioned above, and, in these geographies, the new features are available for in-app purchase on Twitter for iOS and Android or on twitter.com through payment platform partner Stripe.

The Twitter Blue features offer subscribers a way to enhance and personalize their experience on the social platform. In addition, these powerful controls are designed to allow users to personalize Twitter and include a lab that provides preview access to new features before they are available to everyone.

This is Twitter Blue Lab: the laboratory that provides Twitter Blue subscribers with preview access to features, which change over time, before they are made available. 

Indeed, some may be removed, some may become available to all Twitter accounts, or some may be released for the exclusive use of subscribers. To learn about this, users should take the time to check the platform’s settings to know what is new.

In addition, Twitter is testing the ability to edit original Tweets so that users can make changes, correct typos, and show their best version on social. The above option is called Edit Tweet, and it is a feature that offers a 30-minute window to make a limited number of changes to the original Tweets posted.