The last few years there has been a growing tension between two of the biggest names in technology – Apple’s Tim Cook and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. It started with veiled criticism around Facebook’s data privacy and fake news. Then Apple’s product changes – in particular the iOS 13 privacy and security features – caused a stir amongst all the social media platforms. Zuckerberg and Sandberg came out publicly and criticised Apple. Tim Cook hit back.
The fundamental problem for Facebook at the moment is that they rely on Apple. In America, 50% of Facebook’s users (across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger) come from an iOS device. As this iOS 13 saga made clear, Facebook are reliant on Apple’s hardware and that makes them subject to Apple’s policies. Some Silicon Valley watchers have suggested that the metaverse is Zuckerberg’s way of changing this and getting out from under Apple.
For Apple, rumours of an AR or VR headset have abounded for years. After Snap and Google failed with AR glasses and Facebook announced their own (in collaboration with Ray Ban), the joke was that Apple would come out and show them all how it is done. For generations, Apple have shown themselves to be the king of consumer-facing hardware. Desktop computers, MP3 players, phones, laptops, tablets, headphones, smart watches. If you think of the best experiences in consumer tech – it is always Apple. So it makes sense to think that when Apple do release an AR or VR headset – it will be just as exceptional.
This is why the metaverse is setting up to be the next battlefield in the Zuckerberg-Cook war. Zuckerberg will be desperate to avoid the situation he has on mobile, reliant on an Apple operating system, subject to Apple’s developer rules and hardware constraints.
We expect in the back of both Zuckerberg and Cook’s mind is the opportunity in metaverse commerce (side note: will that start being called mCommerce – aka eCommerce in the metaverse?). The Apple App Store may be the best business on earth – a monopoly gateway in to over 2 billion phones. Both Facebook and Apple will be eyeing off the opportunity to create something similar in the metaverse. So now that Facebook are focusing on the metaverse (and Microsoft recently announced they are following suit) expect Apple, Alphabet and the rest of the Silicon Valley giants to do the same.
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