Earlier this month, Apple announced a deep integration of Twitter into the next version ofiOS, Apple's operating system for iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

Boy did this announcement burn some biscuits at Facebook.

We've learned from a source involved in the matter that, at one point not so long ago, Apple was going to integrate Facebook into the iOS in almost the exact same ways it ended up integrating Twitter.

That means we probably would have a "Share this on Facebook" buttonin Apple's Photos app, instead of "Tweet"…

…and a similar button here, in Apple's Safari App:

We can only speculate as to why Apple and Facebook's partnership fell apart. Our best guess is that Apple found Twitter to be a more compliant partner.

Twitter, with maybe 25 million or so monthly active users, needs Apple more than Facebook does.

And make no mistake, Twitter was smart to give Apple whatever Facebook would not. All theiPhone and iPad users out there who once tried Twitter, but eventually moved on, will now have a reason to dust off their old accounts. Twitter's monthly active user numbers should go up.