As a developer, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has criticized Apple for charging a commission for all in-app purchases via App Store and iOS App Tracking Transparency privacy feature. Now as a competitor in the AR/VR headset market, Zuckerberg is even more skeptical of the tech giant’s business strategy.
After the unveiling of the new Meta Quest Pro mixed reality headset, Zuckerberg did not miss the opportunity to take a jab at Apple for pricing of its unannounced mixed reality headset.
Zuckerberg says its $1500 mixed-reality headset is cheaper than Apple’s unannounced headset
For the past few years, rumor mills have been speculating that the Cupertino tech giant is working on a mixed reality (Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality) headset to enhance users’ gaming and video streaming experiences. And the company is set to launch it in early 2023.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has publically expressed the potential of Augmented Reality (AR) technology on several occasions but has never confirmed the development of a new mixed-reality headset. However, it did not stop Zuckerberg from speculating on the alleged device’s price.
In a podcast interview with Stratechery’s Ben Thompson, he said that the Cupertino tech giant only makes products to get as much money as it can out of consumers’ pockets. Meta, on the other hand, delivers quality hardware at a minimum profit margin and even at loss sometimes.
“It’s typically people build hardware and they try to make a profit off of it, where if you’re Apple, you build hardware and you charge as much as you can for it,” Zuckerberg said.
He said he’s taking a different route. “I do think that having someone come into the space and basically say, “We’re going to build the best hardware in the space and we’re going to basically sell it at a break-even point and in some cases [at a loss].”
The newly announced Meta Quest Pro is an AR and VR headset available for $1,499. It will enable users to access metaverse for which the company will charge a much higher 47.5% commission from developers for in-app purchases than Apple’s 15%-30% App Store commission.
via Business Insider
