The highly anticipated and potential Twitter killer Threads has landed and millions have already downloaded it, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Threads, built by Meta’s Instagram team, went live on Wednesday evening and in just the first four hours received an impressive five million sign-ups, Zuckerberg said in a post on the new text-based app.
Clearly enjoying the occasion, Zuckerberg also teased Twitter owner Elon Musk by posting his first tweet in more than a decade containing the classic Spider-man pointing at Spider-man meme. It seems to be a reference to the striking and deliberate similarities between Threads and Twitter, or perhaps a cheeky reminder about the potential cage fight between the two.
— Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) July 6, 2023
The Meta chief already has 250,000 followers on Threads, almost half of what he has on Twitter. But whereas it might be another decade before he tweets again, it seems likely he’ll be very active on Threads.
“The vision for Threads is to create an open and friendly public space for conversation,” Zuckerberg said in another of his posts on the new app. “We hope to take what Instagram does best and create a new experience around text, ideas, and discussing what’s on your mind.” It seems like they want to take what Twitter does — or did — best, too.
Interest in Threads is through the roof largely because a good many Twitter users are crying out for an alternative microblogging app following the disruptions that have plagued the social media platform since Elon Musk acquired the company in October.
Some observers believe that unless Twitter gets its act together sharpish, it could be curtains for the platform. Others think that it’s already too late. Threads’ arrival certainly hasn’t helped, though of course, it’s early days for the new competitor.
Currently, you log into Threads via your Instagram account, and posts can be up to 500 characters long and contain links, photos, and videos up to five minutes in length.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.