The CEO of Meta recently informed staff, "This is a competition of philosophies and ideas."
In order to create the metaverse, Mark Zuckerberg and Apple are engaged in a "really profound, philosophical competition," hinting that the two digital behemoths are prepared to square off in the market for devices supporting augmented and virtual reality.
According to a recording of his remarks made during an internal all-hands meeting that The Verge was able to get, the CEO of Meta told staff earlier this month that they were competing with Apple to decide "what direction the internet should go in." He asserted that Meta would present itself as the less expensive, more open rival to Apple, which is anticipated to introduce its first augmented reality headgear as early as later this year.
"This is a competition of ideologies and ideas," Zuckerberg said of the tense conflict. "They feel that by doing everything themselves and tightly integrating that they provide a superior consumer experience." And according to us, there is still much to be done in terms of specialization among various organizations, which will enable a much larger ecosystem to flourish.
Zuckerberg has been promoting the idea of interoperability for the metaverse, or what he sees as the next significant chapter in computing after mobile phones, since since changing the name of Facebook's firm to Meta. Together with Microsoft, Epic Games, and others, Meta recently assisted in establishing the Metaverse Open Standards Group. The goal is to encourage the development of open protocols that will make it simple for individuals to transport their virtual commodities through immersive, 3D worlds in the future.
In his remarks to staff, Zuckerberg referred to Apple's absence from the group as not surprising. He said that while Apple's strategy of creating hardware and software it closely controls had succeeded with the iPhone, "it's not really evident upfront whether an open or closed ecosystem is going to be preferable" for the metaverse.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook has been open about the business's interest in augmented reality as a category, but the company has remained, as is customary for it, mute about its upcoming hardware plans. Even still, all indications point to the impending release of a high-end headset that combines AR experiences that overlay the real world with VR's total immersion.
Code-named Cambria, Meta intends to introduce a comparable headset later this year. The company is also getting ready to introduce its first real set of augmented reality glasses.
Zuckerberg appears to want to position Meta as the Android to Apple's iOS if VR and AR do become as popular as he anticipates. There is a similarity to be drawn between Google's Android and Meta's Quest headgear, which already permits side loading of apps that have not been authorized by Meta's VR app store. Furthermore, despite the recent $100 rise in the Quest's pricing, Meta's hardware is still primarily sold at a loss or breakeven.
