Seemingly out of the blue Friday, Donald Trump decided to weigh in via his usual presidential soapbox, Twitter, on an unexpected subject: Apple’s UI decisions. So, as I’m sure you’re now wondering, what does the commander in chief think about the company’s recently released iPhone 11 series?
No idea. He didn’t say, since posting on social media about relevant news”however bizarrely outside his wheelhouse ” would be far too sane. Instead, he subtweeted tech CEO Tim Cook to let him know exactly where he stands on a hotly debated issue circa 2016.
“To Tim: The Button on the IPhone was FAR better than the Swipe!”
To Tim: The Button on the IPhone was FAR better than the Swipe!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2019
That’s right, our president is firmly on team home button. Apple ditched the physical button in its top-of-the-line models beginning in 2017 with the company’s iPhone X series, replacing it with what Trump somewhat ominously calls “the Swipe,” i.e. swipe and gesture controls.
(It should be noted, though, that Trump could be referring to a different Tim with this tweet: his good friend Tim Apple.)
As Business Insider points out, this isn’t the first time Trump’s commented on Apple’s particular design choices.
He fired off several tweets throughout 2013 and 2014 calling Apple “DUMB!” and suggesting the company bump up the size of its iPhone screens. Apple did eventually adopt a bigger screen starting with the iPhone 6 Plus, thus confirming that Trump is secretly a prolific tech guru and we should all take tonight’s tweet as a crucial peek into the industry’s future.
@iPhoneTeam Better get a large screen iPhone, and fast, or risk losing even more business. Samsung cannot believe you have not acted! DUMB!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2013
I cannot believe that Apple didn’t come out with a larger screen IPhone. Samsung is stealing their business. STEVE JOBS IS SPINNING IN GRAVE
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2013
I wonder if Apple is upset with me for hounding them to produce a large screen iPhone. I hear they will be doing it soon—long overdue.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2014