Twitter's rebrand to 'X' has been a topic of debate all week, with some being delighted at it, while many are confused because of the awkward transition. The newest snag this rebrand has hit is coming from the App Store. It appears that Twitter is unable to rename itself to X in the App Store listing because of Apple's App Store rules.
Twitter has already changed its name to X on the Google Play Store, but despite the listing page overhaul on the App Store, the name of the app itself remains Twitter. This is likely because of Apple's App Store naming guidelines.
X may need more words to change App Store name
On iOS, the situation is distinct as Apple does not permit any app to have a single character as their app name. If they manage to obtain approval, it would mark the first instance since the inception of the iOS App Store that such a permission has been granted. https://t.co/EtzAj76fwx pic.twitter.com/Dzx0HAsz9bJuly 28, 2023
Nick Sheriff noted on Twitter that this snag could be a result of Apple's App Store rule that does not allow one character names. App names need to be two characters or more, which means that there currently isn't a way for Twitter to change the name to X on the App Store.
However, some apps use a subtitle after the app name, and that may be Twitter's way out of this situation. For example, YouTube is named "YouTube: Watch, Listen, Stream" on the App Store, even though it doesn't need to have a subtitle. Twitter could adapt a similar naming style and go for something like "X: The Everything App" (whatever that means), since that's the phrase being thrown around with this rebrand.
Apple hasn't bent the App Store naming guidelines for anybody since inception, and it's unlikely that X will be an exception. Even though Apple has made exceptions in other aspects, it doesn't seem like something that may happen given the whimsical nature of Twitter under the new management.
It will be clear in the coming days what approach Twitter and Apple take. In the meantime, Twitter will remain named Twitter on the App Store on all the best iPhones out there.
