Telegram Founder Slams Apple For Selling Hardware From The ‘Middle Ages’

Pavel Durov, the founding father of Telegram app that gained recognition just lately after WhatsApp pushed a contentious coverage replace, has slammed Apple’s relationship with China. He accused the Cupertino firm of offering “complete control” to the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) over the info of its residents who use iPhone handsets. He said that Apple’s “business model” was primarily based on “selling overpriced, obsolete hardware to customers locked in their ecosystem.” Durov additionally added that utilizing an iPhone made “you a digital slave of Apple” as the corporate allowed customers to obtain apps solely from its App Store.

Durov even slammed Apple {hardware}, saying that every time he had to make use of an iPhone to check the Telegram app on iOS, “I feel like I’m thrown back into the Middle Ages.” The iPhone’s 60Hz displays can’t compete with the 120Hz displays of modern Android phones, he added.

The Russian-born entrepreneur cited an investigative report by the New York Times while making the comments on his public Telegram channel.

Apple and Telegram’s love-hate relationship go a long way back and Durov’s public rant this is not his first against the American giant. In a post on July 28 last year, he outlined “7 reasons” why every iPhone user should be worried about the App Store’s 30 percent tax for some app developers. Later, Apple reduced the tax to 15 percent.

A day after Durov’s post, Telegram filed a formal antitrust complaint to the EU, saying Apple must allow users the opportunity to download software outside of the App Store.

In 2018, Apple removed the Telegram app from App Store over concerns surrounding the distribution of child pornography on the platform.

Telegram has more than 500 million active users worldwide. It recently saw an uptick of subscribers after Facebook and WhatsApp introduced new privateness coverage modifications.

Although WhatsApp stepped again and scrapped its final May 15 deadline, the general public outrage in opposition to it helped Telegram and one other rival Signal achieve help base amongst cell phone customers.