X just released XChat, a standalone iOS app for messaging that's separate from the main X platform. The app includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, video and audio calls, plus features like disappearing messages and screenshot blocking.
This matters because X is essentially breaking apart its product instead of building the integrated "everything app" Elon Musk originally promised. If you're using X for professional networking or community building, you'll now need multiple apps to access basic features.
The timing is interesting. XChat arrives as X shuts down its Communities feature at the end of May, pushing those groups into XChat's group messaging instead. The app currently supports up to 350 participants per group chat, with plans to expand that limit.
For AI professionals and entrepreneurs, this reflects a bigger shift in Musk's priorities. X is now a subsidiary of xAI, which itself sits under SpaceX. The focus has clearly moved to AI development rather than social platform innovation.
The irony isn't lost on users. Musk pitched X as an everything app where messaging, feeds, payments, and job boards would live together. Now you need three separate apps just to use the core product. That's the opposite of streamlined.
If you rely on X for professional communication, expect more fragmentation. The platform that was supposed to consolidate everything is instead splitting into pieces as Musk's attention shifts to xAI and the broader AI race.
