The controversies between Meta (formerly Facebook) and Apple are not surprising in the world of technology. These two companies have clashed over issues such as data privacy and its impact on the advertising business. But now the controversy will focus on the metaverse, both in the product vertical and in the philosophy of each company to build this digital world.
During a meeting with his employees, Mark Zuckebrerg, CEO of Meta, showed his position regarding the competition with Apple to determine “in which direction the internet should go” and even stressed that his company would be the most open and economic alternative in the metaverse.
Zuckeberg’s position is due to the fact that Apple is not among the more than 30 companies that helped formalize , whose objective is to explore various issues around the metaverse, such as the lack of interoperability in its development and how to speed up the work of organizations to define technology standards.
In addition to Meta, this group includes 36 companies and organizations, including Epic Games and Microsoft, which are creating technologies related to the metaverse, from video games to Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality glasses.
“This is a philosophy and ideas competition where they believe that by doing everything themselves and by integrating closely, they build a better experience for the consumer,” Zuckerberg complained according to the recording obtained by The Verge.
The businessman also highlighted his opinion that “there is much to be done in specializing in different companies and that will allow for a much larger ecosystem.”
Zuckerberg criticized that although the controlled hardware and software approach worked for the iPhone, it does not represent a satisfactory model for the metaverse, where they intend to bet on an open ecosystem.
It should be remembered that in recent months Apple’s interest in developing AR glasses has been rumored, which is why Zuckerberg sees competition in both hardware and ideas.
Although it might seem that it is a competition where only two players stand out, Meta would seek to collaborate with other companies to continue developing metaversal applications, such as Google.
“It’s pretty clear that Apple will be a competitor to us, not only as a product but also philosophically. We are approaching this in an open way and trying to build a more open ecosystem. We’re trying to make more things interoperable with Android. We are trying to develop the metaverse so that you can take your virtual goods from one world to another, “said the businessman.
Although Zuckerberg accepted that Apple has built a better position in developed countries, the same ones that are capable of acquiring the technology that introduces them to the metaverse, “I don’t think the future is written (…). Our business is not based primarily on getting a premium for devices. We want as many people as possible to interact. Part of that is for it to be an open, interoperable ecosystem.”
