Mark Zuckerberg Critiques Apple's Innovation and Practices

On September 25, 2024, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made headlines during a podcast interview with Joe Rogan as he criticized Apple for its perceived lack of innovation and what he described as "random rules" governing its products.

Zuckerberg acknowledged the significant impact of the iPhone, stating, "On the one hand, the iPhone has been great, because now pretty much everyone in the world has a phone, and that's kind of what enables pretty amazing things." However, he expressed frustration, saying, "on the other hand... they have used that platform to put in place a lot of rules that I think feel arbitrary." He elaborated that Apple seems to have stagnated in innovation since the iPhone's inception, remarking, "It's like Steve Jobs invented the iPhone, and now they're just kind of sitting on it 20 years later."

Zuckerberg also shared his views on iPhone sales, arguing that consumer interest is waning because new models are not offering significant improvements over their predecessors. "How are they making more money as a company? Well, they do it by basically, like, squeezing people, and having this 30% tax on developers," he claimed, referring to the App Store's revenue model. The Meta CEO noted that while devices like Air Pods are innovative, Apple has restricted the ability of other developers to create compatible accessories. "They've just thoroughly hamstrung the ability for anyone else to build something that can connect to the iPhone in the same way," he said.

In response to Apple's claims that they prioritize consumer privacy and security, Zuckerberg suggested that the company could enhance its protocols. "It's insecure because you didn't build any security into it. And then now you're using that as a justification for why only your product can connect in an easy way," he explained.

Addressing Apple’s practices, Zuckerberg confidently stated that if Apple ceased implementing its "random rules," Meta's profits could potentially double. He even took time to critique Apple’s recently launched Vision Pro headset, which has seen disappointing sales in the U.S. market. "I think the Vision Pro is one of the bigger swings at doing a new thing that they tried in a while," he acknowledged. However, he admitted that the headset "definitely did not hit it out of the park." He added, "I heard it's really good for watching movies."

Apple has yet to respond publicly to Zuckerberg's comments and criticisms.

Zuckerberg, Apple, Innovation