Years-long conflict: Zuckerberg recalls how Apple hindered Meta's growth
Zuckerberg reveals why his relationship with Apple became toxic (photo: Getty Images)
After the scandalous court case with Epic Games, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke frankly for the first time about his difficult relationship with Apple, reports 9to5Mac.
Zuckerberg talks about his bitter relationship with Apple
Ben Thompson of Stratechery interviewed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, covering a wide range of topics. They met at the first-ever LlaamaCon developer conference organized by Meta.
Thompson began by pointing out that many of the Facebook developer platform announcements over the years are now either “dead” or “massively constrained” within the original concept. This, of course, brought the conversation to Apple.
Mark Zuckerberg explained that with the transition of users from desktop to mobile devices, Apple has effectively banned the creation of a “platform within a platform” and the use of its own tools in applications.
According to him, this ban affected an important part of Meta's business - before the IPO in 2012, games and applications accounted for about 20% of the company's revenue. But due to Apple's restrictions, there were practically no prospects in this direction.
Zuckerberg also noted that Apple's policy was the cause of the accumulated dissatisfaction and “deep bitterness” not only because of this situation but also because of other restrictions that the company imposed. He believes that Apple's refusal to allow the implementation of potentially valuable features has affected the nature of the relationship between the two companies, which he finds “unfortunate.”
The relationship between Apple and Meta is not the friendliest, even though the companies depend on each other to some extent for success.
Looking back at the history of the relationship between the two companies, Apple's restrictive policies on certain applications have undoubtedly played a role. However, these practices have not yet been recognized as anti-competitive. As a result, developers simply have to adapt to get around them.
For Meta, as it turns out in the full interview, this led to several changes in the company's strategy, which eventually brought even more success.
Read also Meta launched new AI app and Mark Zuckerberg shares insights into AI and metaverse future.
