- Mark Zuckerberg criticized Apple on Joe Rogan’s podcast for its lack of innovation and strict third-party developer rules. “It’s like Steve Jobs invented the iPhone, and now they’re just kind of sitting on it 20 years later.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg bashed tech competitor Apple during a podcast for its lack of progression and rules for third-party companies.
In a nearly three-hour-long episode of the Joe Rogan Podcast on Friday that covered a wide range of topics, Zuckerberg also praised Apple, saying, “The iPhone is probably one of the most important inventions of all time.”.
But he noted Apple’s decline in iPhone sales as people wait to upgrade their phones. (After a recent slump, iPhone sales jumped 6% year over year in its fiscal fourth quarter.)
“They haven’t invented anything great in a while. It’s like Steve Jobs invented the iPhone, and now they’re just kind of sitting on it 20 years later,” Zuckerberg said.
In an effort to offset the company’s lack of product innovation, he said that Apple is “squeezing people” for money and pointed to the 30% commission Apple charges on app developers using its payment systems.
Additionally, Zuckerberg claimed the company makes it difficult for third-party plug-ins to have success on iPhone devices.
“They build stuff like Airpods which are cool, but they’ve thoroughly hamstrung the ability for anyone else to build something that can connect to the iPhone in the same way,” he said.
Zuckerberg recalled frustrations surrounding his desire to have the Ray-Ban Meta Advanced Smart Glasses easily connect to the iPhone.
He went on to say that Apple allows its products to connect seamlessly to any Apple device, while leaving competitors in the dark about its connection protocol.
As Zuckerberg talked about the stagnant nature of Apple, he reminded Rogan about the nature of the industry.
“I mean the good news about the tech industry is it’s like it’s just super dynamic and things are constantly getting invented,” Zuckerberg said. “I think companies, if you just don’t do a good job for like 10 years, eventually you’re just going to get beat by someone.”
Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
