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Telegram founder slams Apple for ‘totalitarian’ control and hardware from the ‘Middle Ages’

The founder of the popular Telegram messaging platform has publicly criticized Apple in response to a recent New York Times article about Apple’s relationship with China. Pavel Durov made the comments in a public Telegram channel this week, saying that Apple hardware feels like it’s from the “Middle Ages” and is “appreciated by the Communist Party of China.”

The comments were first spotted by Android Central. Durov wrote in the post that every time he has to use an iPhone it is like being “thrown back into the Middle Ages,” apparently because the iPhone does not use a 120Hz display.

“Apple is very efficient at pursuing their business model, which is based on selling overpriced, obsolete hardware to customers locked in their ecosystem,” he wrote. “Every time I have to use an iPhone to test our iOS app 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 that support much smoother animations.”

These hardware limitations, however, are not the worst part about the Apple experience, according to Durov.

Durov added that the worst part about Apple’s technology is not “clunkier devices or outdated hardware,” but that users who have an iPhone are a “digital slave of Apple.”

”You are only allowed to use apps that Apple lets you install via their App Store, and you can only use Apple’s iCloud to natively back up your data,” he said.

“It’s no wonder that Apple’s totalitarian approach is so appreciated by the Communist Party of China, which – thanks to Apple – now has complete control over the apps and data of all of its citizens who rely on iPhones.”

Other than the piece in the New York Times, it’s unclear what exactly prompted Durov’s public rant against Apple. In January, Apple was hit with a lawsuit by the Coalition fro a Safer Web over hosting Telegram in the App Store. Telegram also filed an antitrust complaint against Apple last year.

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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is the editor-in-chief of 9to5Mac, overseeing the entire site’s operations. He also hosts the 9to5Mac Daily and 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcasts.

You can send tips, questions, and typos to chance@9to5mac.com.

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