Facebook CEO calls Apple ‘significant’ future competitor

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg mentioned he sees Apple Inc. as a “significant” future competitor as the 2 firms start to construct out rival enterprise traces.
Zuckerberg mentioned Facebook’s key product areas on Wednesday throughout a fourth-quarter earnings name, and mentioned he expects there to be “very significant competitive overlap” with the iPhone maker on a number of of them, together with personal messaging and augmented actuality glasses. He criticized Apple’s iMessage, suggesting it supplied weaker privateness than Facebook’s WhatsApp, and implied iMessage’s market dominance within the U.S. was the results of unfair benefits offered by Apple.
“IMessage is the most popular service in the U.S. I think because of the fact that they pre-install it and give their app several advantages that other apps don’t have,” Zuckerberg mentioned.
The CEO additionally mentioned that Facebook and Apple are prone to develop into direct rivals on the “next computing platform,” referring to digital and augmented actuality headsets. Facebook already gives VR headsets from its Oculus unit, and each firms are constructing AR glasses. “I think we would expect to see them as more of a competitor there as well,” he added.
Facebook has attacked Apple in latest months, primarily over anticipated modifications to Apple’s iOS 14 cell software program, which can make it more durable for the social community to trace customers and present them adverts primarily based on their previous on-line exercise. Apple has mentioned it’s making the transfer to guard consumer privateness, and Facebook has argued that the opt-in requirement will harm small companies that depend on focused promoting for gross sales. Facebook advised analysts Wednesday that the iOS modifications may curb its income progress.
“Apple may say that they’re doing this to help people, but the moves clearly track their competitive interests,” Zuckerberg mentioned.
The risk to income progress from Apple’s modifications to iOS had been a part of a broader warning from Facebook about “significant uncertainty” for its enterprise heading into 2021. The Menlo Park, California-based firm mentioned gross sales positive aspects could sluggish within the second half as pandemic lockdowns — and the accompanying progress in site visitors and advert income — ease.
For now, the corporate continues to be benefiting from a surge in on-line purchasing and digital promoting through the Covid-19 disaster. Facebook reported fourth-quarter gross sales jumped 33% to $28.1 billion, and month-to-month common customers on its flagship website rose to 2.8 billion.
Apple additionally reported quarterly earnings on Wednesday, with income leaping 21% to $111.4 billion, propelled by the iPhone 12.