Where Apple’s Vision Pro Leaves Meta
Mark Zuckerberg will have to overindex on openness, and hang in tightly, if he wants his big mixed reality bet to pay off
The mood within Meta was defiant this week, if a bit uneasy. After spending years screaming — howling — that mixed reality was the next great computing platform, the company watched as Apple, its chief antagonist, entered the fray with a leading device. Apple’s big push into the space was validating for Meta, a signal it wasn’t that crazy for being so bullish on the metaverse, but it instantly changed its role.
Instead of being the only major player with a mixed reality consumer device, Meta will now settle into a position akin to Android’s on mobile. In this case, Meta started first, with plenty of developer relationships in hand. But unlike Android, it doesn’t offer an operating system to all device manufacturers, something that may have to change.
Mark Zuckerberg will have to overindex on openness, and hang in tightly, if he wants his big mixed reality bet to pay off
The mood within Meta was defiant this week, if a bit uneasy. After spending years screaming — howling — that mixed reality was the next great computing platform, the company watched as Apple, its chief antagonist, entered the fray with a leading device. Apple’s big push into the space was validating for Meta, a signal it wasn’t that crazy for being so bullish on the metaverse, but it instantly changed its role.
Instead of being the only major player with a mixed reality consumer device, Meta will now settle into a position akin to Android’s on mobile. In this case, Meta started first, with plenty of developer relationships in hand. But unlike Android, it doesn’t offer an operating system to all device manufacturers, something that may have to change.