Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made waves during his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, offering sharp criticism of Apple’s business practices and product strategy. In the wide-ranging interview, Zuckerberg touched on topics like App Store policies, device innovation, and Apple’s dominance in the tech ecosystem.
A Jab at the App Store and iPhone Sales
Zuckerberg didn’t mince words when addressing Apple’s App Store fees, which he sees as a way to offset slowing iPhone sales.
“[Apple has] used the [iPhone] to put in place a lot of rules that I think feel arbitrary. I feel like they haven’t really invented anything great in a while. It’s like Steve Jobs invented the iPhone, and now they’re just kind of sitting on it 20 years later,” Zuckerberg remarked.
He went on to claim that iPhone sales have plateaued, adding:
“Year over year, I’m not even sure they’re selling more iPhones at this point. I think like the sales might actually be declining… So the number of sales, I think, has generally been flat to declining. So how are they making more money as a company? Well, they do it by basically like squeezing people and having this 30 percent tax on developers.”
AirPods, Meta Glasses, and Closed Ecosystems
Zuckerberg also took aim at Apple’s approach to product interoperability, singling out AirPods as an example of how Apple restricts access to its ecosystem.
“They build stuff like AirPods, which are cool, but they’ve just thoroughly hamstrung the ability for anyone else to build something that can connect to the iPhone in the same way,” Zuckerberg said.
He explained how Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses faced hurdles when trying to integrate with iPhones, highlighting Apple’s proprietary protocols as a barrier:
“We basically asked them for the Ray-Ban Meta glasses that we built, ‘Can we basically use the protocol that you use for AirPods…so it’s not like a pain in the ass for people who wanna use this?’ And they’re like, well, we can’t have you plug into it because it would be insecure. It’s like, it’s insecure because you didn’t build any security into it.”
Zuckerberg voiced optimism that Apple’s dominance might be challenged soon:
“They’ve been off their game in terms of not releasing innovative things. I’m optimistic that they’ll get beat by someone.”
Critiquing iMessage and Vision Pro
The conversation shifted to Apple’s iMessage platform and its use of “blue bubbles” to distinguish iPhone users from others. According to Zuckerberg, this is a deliberate move to create a social divide:
“The whole thing that they’ve done with iMessage, they do this whole blue bubble, green bubble thing. For kids…it’s just sort of like, they embarrass you, right? They’re like, if you don’t have a blue bubble, you’re not cool.”
Finally, Zuckerberg shared his thoughts on Apple’s Vision Pro, comparing it to Meta’s Quest lineup:
“They shipped something for $3,500 that I think is worse than the thing that we shipped for $300 or $400…Their second and third version will probably be better than their first version. I think the Vision Pro is one of the bigger swings at doing a new thing that they’ve tried in a while.”
What the whole interview here
A Long-Standing Rivalry
The Meta-Apple rivalry has intensified in recent years, fueled by competition in augmented reality, privacy, and platform policies. Zuckerberg’s comments highlight the growing tension as both companies seek to dominate the next wave of technological innovation.
While Apple remains a formidable force, Zuckerberg’s critique underscores the challenges of staying ahead in a fiercely competitive industry. Whether Meta or another challenger can disrupt Apple’s hold on the market remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: this rivalry isn’t cooling off anytime soon.
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