In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk, the tech mogul known for his unconventional decisions, recently made a significant change to Twitter’s iconic bird logo by putting an end to its name, Larry Bird. Twitter, following Musk’s lead, officially rebranded itself as “X” and introduced a new logo.
While the iOS app was swiftly updated to reflect the new identity, the App Store page continued to mention “Twitter” due to one of Apple’s guidelines. However, it appears that Apple has made an exception for Musk, as the App Store page has now been updated, and “X” is the name that appears there.
Twitter becomes “X” in the iOS App Store
This development caught the attention of many developers, as App Store Connect typically requires app names to have at least two characters. This means launching an app with a single letter or number as its name is not officially permitted.
Interestingly, Apple’s App Store Guidelines do not explicitly state a minimum limit for app names, but they do require the name to be limited to 30 characters (as per terms 2.3.7). Nevertheless, in practice, the Cupertino tech giant has not allowed developers to submit apps with a single character as the name.
Choose a unique app name, assign keywords that accurately describe your app, and don’t try to pack any of your metadata with trademarked terms, popular app names, pricing information, or other irrelevant phrases just to game the system. App names must be limited to 30 characters.
It is worth noting that the name shown on the iOS Home Screen can be just one character long, but not the marketing name displayed in the App Store. Apple’s decision to make an exception for Elon Musk might be influenced by the notability of his platform, but it is unlikely that such leeway would be granted to smaller developers.
The transition from Twitter to “X” has been met with controversy. Many question Musk’s decision to kill off one of the world’s most famous brands, and the rebranding seems to have been a last-minute decision.
“I think there was a true affinity for Twitter and the brand by their power users,” says California-based Orlando Baeza, chief revenue officer at Flock Freight, and a former marketing executive and branding leader at Buzzfeed, Paramount, Activision, Adidas, and Nike. “This is a dramatic and unexpected turn. Their brand identity went from feeling warm and welcoming to dark and members-only. And to top it off, this all happened overnight. Literally.”
The Twitter rebrand is the biggest downgrade in history
— Sir Alex (@FergHassan) July 30, 2023
This Twitter rebrand to "X" actually makes me not want to use this app
— marv (@mymarvelouslife) July 31, 2023
why was X afraid of Z?
because Y would you rebrand Twitter after 17 years
— annie-mai (@anniemaisocial) July 24, 2023
A week after the change, “X’s” app and website still prominently feature “Twitter” everywhere, including the company’s paid subscription, “Twitter Blue,” and “Twitter Spaces.” The process of replacing terms like “tweet” with “post” is ongoing, suggesting that the rebranding was not carefully planned.
It’s worth mentioning that big rebrands often face criticism, but as time passes, people tend to accept the changes, leading to growth and expansion. Remember when Instagram revealed its new logo in 2016, and many users threatened to stop using the app? However, in the end, Instagram prevailed as one of the most successful social media platforms of all time.
As for right now, we will simply have to wait and see what the future holds for “X”.
