All of Twitter may go behind a paywall
Casey Newton, on Platformer Musk discusses putting all of Twitter behind a paywall
But all of that could be a prelude to the biggest change of all: charging most or all users a subscription fee to use Twitter.
The other day, I wrote that “I’m not a big fan of social media platforms. I’ve only had one account. Twitter! And Over the years my relationship with the platform has been on again off again. Today I'm on Twitter with a very narrow use case. I use it to market my blog and posts. I follow app developers of apps that I use to keep up with the latest information about their apps. And last for breaking news. That’s it! So, how will Twitter change for me? Probably not that much, but we’ll see?”
So, after saying all that, would I pay a subscription for Twitter? If the subscription is 99 cents, I'm in. If the subscription is $1.99, maybe. Anything over that, no. Of course, that's assuming the platform doesn't totally go to shit.
Apple wins a Patent for a next-gen hinged keyboard iPad accessory with multiple modes
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to a new hinged iPad keyboard accessory that provides multiple installation modes that could deliver superior flexibility for users. One particular patent figure would strongly suggest that the iPad could take on a macOS (or macOS-like) user interface.
This sounds very interesting. iPadOS as we know it in touch form, macOS when connected to the Magic Keyboard.
Subscription Service for iPhones?
Mark Gurman: “Apple Inc. is working on a subscription service for the iPhone and other hardware products, a move that could make device ownership similar to paying a monthly app fee, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The service would be Apple’s biggest push yet into automatically recurring sales, allowing users to subscribe to hardware for the first time — rather than just digital services. But the project is still in development, said the people, who asked not to identified because the initiative hasn’t been announced.”
This whole idea of owning nothing and making payments on everything you own in perpetuity is bullshit. I want to own my hardware, not rent it. I hope there will continue to be a cash option if this actually happens.
Rumor: Only iPhone 14 pro models to get A16 chip
According to Apple's rules for naming iPhones, the four new 2H22 iPhones could be called iPhone 14 (6.1”), iPhone 14 Max (6.7”), iPhone 14 Pro (6.1”), and iPhone 14 Pro Max (6.7”).
Only two Pro models would upgrade to the A16 processor, while the 14 & 14 Max will remain the A15. All four new models will likely come with 6GB RAM, with the difference being LPDDR 5 (14 Pro & 14 Pro Max) vs. LPDDR 4X (14 & 14 Max). https://t.co/tHcszIz6gX
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 13, 2022
If Kuo is correct, starting next year, Pro and non-Pro iPhones will be differentiated by their chip performance, too, and I would expect that to remain the case year after year. That makes sense to me — it’s true for Apple’s “Pro” models in the MacBook and iPad lineups.
If this rumor is true, why wouldn’t most users opt for an iPhone 13 for less money? I sure would.