X begins testing separate Chat app on iPhone, first TestFlight batch already full [U: Beta expanded to 10,000 users]

Update 05/03/26 – 10:42 pm (IST): The X Chat Beta on TestFlight has now been expanded to its maximum capacity of 10,000 users, with X designer Michael Boswell calling it the “last chance” to get in on the beta. Bug fixes and new features are actively being shipped as the team continues to refine the app ahead of a wider release.

Original article published on March 3, 2026, follows:

The standalone X Chat Beta app is now live, and it has apparently been under development for several months. It’s only available on iOS for now, and for the first 1000 beta testers via Apple’s Testflight program. The initial batch has already reached maximum capacity, so you cannot sign up for now.

If you got into the program, sharing feedback will help the team at X polish the app further before an eventual public release. I would describe the app as clean and modern, and a major step up from the dedicated “X Chat” section in the current app. The new design features Apple’s Liquid Glass style, making it very visually appealing. The design has floating white dots in the background and appears slightly inspired by Grok’s UI.

Michael Boswell, a designer at X, answered several questions that users raised in this thread. He has also confirmed that this app is exclusive to iOS 26, and support for older versions will not be happening. This is because the adoption rate for new iOS versions is quite high.

Messaging on X has come a long way. Earlier, we had ‘Direct Messages’ when the app was called Twitter. Eventually, that was phased out in favor of X Chat. The messages between both platforms were unified. X Chat has a lot more features, including end-to-end encryption, vanishing messages, file sharing, calls, and a lot more. It will still remain integrated with the main X app, but you will now have a standalone option in the future.

The separate X Chat app is branded as XC and has a black icon. This logo was later confirmed to be a placeholder. The purpose is a dedicated messaging experience, paving the way for Elon Musk’s plans of converting X into a ‘Super App’ that’s also capable of payments.

Expectedly, some Android users are annoyed that iOS is taking priority in development yet again.

The team also promised that they’re working on a feature to sort through message requests. They have promised to add voice messages to it. While call functionality is absent for now, it’ll eventually make its way with OTA updates.

The team at X has been pushing a lot of new features lately. We’ve recently seen the ‘Made with AI’ and ‘Paid Promotion’ labels in the main app. You can read everything about that here.

Featured image credit: @techdevnotes / X

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