Mark Zuckerberg Intensifies Rivalry with Apple, Calling It Meta's Biggest Competitor

Mark Zuckerberg declares Meta 'the opposite' of Apple

While Meta has prioritized acting fast and engaging users, such as through its open-sourcing of its Llama AI model, Zuckerberg said in the Acquired podcast episode released Tuesday, Apple prefers maintaining a closed ecosystem of polished, exclusive products. "I think in a lot of ways we're like the opposite of Apple," he said. "Clearly, their stuff has worked really well too. They take this approach that's like, 'We're going to take a long time, we're going to polish it, we're going to put it out,' and maybe for the stuff that they're doing that works, maybe that just fits with their culture." Since Tim Cook took the helm of the tech behemoth, Apple has prided itself on being the best, rather than the first. For the most part, it's worked out for the company, demonstrated by its superlative of the world's largest smartphone provider. Apple has long tended to its walled garden of in-house products, which has resulted in a uniform line of apps and accessories bespoke to its tech -- and a whopping antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice. But Zuckerberg touted Meta's own spaghetti-at-the-wall approach to its products, which he believes has elicited helpful critiques and enabled the company to grow in spite of its failures. "You want to really have a culture that values shipping and getting things out and getting feedback more than needing always to get great positive accolades from people when you put stuff out," he said. There's certainly been no shortage of feedback toward Meta, exemplified by social media platform Thread's meteoric rise to 100 million users, only for the number of accounts to atrophy weeks later. Its flagship Metaverse was a $46.5 billion failure, but that still hasn't stopped Zuckerberg from adding $58 billion to his net worth this year. Apple's perfectionism has been at its own expense, Zuckerberg said, arguing the company prioritizes praise above constructive feedback from users. "If you want to wait until you get praised all the time," he said, "you're missing a bunch of the time when you could've learned a bunch of useful stuff and then incorporated that into the next version you're going to ship." Apple and Meta did not immediately respond to Fortune's requests for comment. Zuckerberg's commentary on Apple's ways of doing business is not the first time he's shared his thoughts on Cook's company. For over a decade, he and Cook have differed on their philosophies not only on how to roll out products, but on the future of the internet more broadly. Earlier this month Meta and Apple's feud reached a fever pitch after Meta urged greater government regulation of social media platforms, suggesting Apple and Google set age restrictions and requirements for parental consent. But Apple disagreed, arguing the onus for restrictions should be placed on the platform themselves. Tensions between the two companies have been tightening since 2014, when Cook suggested Facebook made its money through the collection of personal data. The following year, Apple unveiled its motto, "Privacy is a fundamental human right." Cook also lambasted Facebook as a hotbed for Russian misinformation used to mislead American voters ahead of the 2016 election. Zuckerberg seems keen on fanning the flames of the tech rivalry today, calling Apple Meta's "primary competitor" on Tuesday's podcast. Cook historically has not agreed. "Oh, I think that we compete in some things," Cook said in 2021. "But no, if I may ask who our biggest competitors are, they would not be listed. We're not in the social networking business."

Mark Zuckerberg says Apple's culture is very different than Meta's -- and the two rivals will be battling on multiple fronts

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Zuckerberg went on to say Meta approaches product releases differently, saying, "there are a lot of conversations that we have internally where you're almost at the line of being embarrassed at what you put out." "You want to really have a culture that values shipping and getting things out and getting feedback more than needing always to get great positive accolades from people when you put stuff out," he continued. He also took the opportunity to critique Apple's approach. "If you want to wait until you get praised all the time, you're missing a bunch of the time when you could've learned a bunch of useful stuff and then incorporated that into the next version you're going to ship," he said. Later in the podcast, Zuckerberg also talked about the future of the two companies' relationship, saying people don't necessarily think of Apple as one of Meta's chief rivals but it's "a bigger competitor than people realize." Zuck said one of his goals for the next 10 or 15 years is "to build the next generation of open platforms and have the open platforms win." Apple and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Facebook cofounder has spoken publicly in favor of open platforms as opposed to Apple's famous "walled garden," in which the iPhone maker carefully controls its hardware and software ecosystem -- rules that Zuckerberg is tired of having to follow as an app-maker for the platform. Zuckerberg acknowledged that there are "advantages of doing a closed and integrated model" and that he thinks Apple will be Meta's "primary competitor" -- but not just on the product side. Their differences extend to their core values. "I think it's in some ways very deeply values-driven and ideological competition around what the future of the tech industry should be and how open these platforms, whether it's things like Llama and AI or the glasses or different things, should be for developers." Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, on the other hand, doesn't view Meta as one of his company's biggest rivals. "Oh, I think that we compete in some things," Cook told The New York Times in 2021. "But no, if I was asked who our biggest competitors are, they would not be listed. We're not in the social networking business." But since then, Apple has launched the Vision Pro headset -- competing directly with Meta's lower-priced Quest headset, and the company has been growing its advertising business and readying its own generative AI product, Apple Intelligence, which begins rolling out to iPhones in October. (Zuckerberg is betting big on headsets, the metaverse, and its Meta AI, but the company continues to make most of its money from advertising.) So while it may not have been the rivalry Silicon Valley predicted a decade ago, Zuckerberg is clearly preparing for a long-term battle.

Why Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg thinks Apple is Meta's biggest rival for next 10 years | - Times of India

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that Apple is his company's "primary competitor" for the next decade. Speaking on the "Acquired" podcast, Zuckerberg emphasised the stark differences in company cultures and approaches to product development. "I think in a lot of ways we're like the opposite of Apple," Zuckerberg stated, contrasting Meta's rapid product release strategy with Apple's more deliberate approach.He argued that Meta's willingness to ship products quickly, even at the risk of initial imperfection, fosters faster learning and improvement. Zuckerberg criticised Apple's meticulous product development cycle, saying, "If you want to wait until you get praised all the time, you're missing a bunch of the time when you could've learned a bunch of useful stuff and then incorporated that into the next version you're going to ship." The rivalry extends beyond product competition, encompassing fundamental ideological differences about the future of technology. Zuckerberg advocates for open platforms, stating his goal "to build the next generation of open platforms and have the open platforms win." This stance directly opposes Apple's tightly controlled ecosystem. "I think it's in some ways very deeply values-driven and ideological competition around what the future of the tech industry should be," Zuckerberg explained, highlighting areas of competition including AI, augmented reality glasses, and developer platforms. While Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously downplayed the rivalry, recent developments suggest intensifying competition. Apple's launch of the Vision Pro headset directly challenges Meta's Quest headset, and the company is expanding into advertising and AI - key areas of focus for Meta. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.