Mark Zuckerberg Criticizes Apple for Lack of Innovation, Strict Developer Rules

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg criticized Apple's performance during his appearance on Friday in the podcast "Joe Rogan”.

Zuckerberg, who owns the networking company Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, believes that Apple “hasn't really invented anything great in a while,” and relied on its previous success.

“Steve Jobs invented the iPhone and now they still rely on it after 20 years,” Meta CEO said during the 3-hour podcast, according to a report by The Verge, which specializes in technology news.

Talk about Apple began during the podcast when Lt. Col. Rogan said he would switch to an Android phone instead of Apple's iPhone, citing that he did not prefer the company's policies related to its Apple Store, where users are required to pay a fee of up to 30%.

While Zuckerberg said he acknowledges Apple's invention of the iPhone as “probably one of the most important inventions of all time,” he believes the company has established “seemingly arbitrary” rules.

Zuckerberg said the company “completely hindered anyone else's ability to build something that could connect to the iPhone in the same way” that Apple's own products, such as AirPods, are connected.

He added that if Apple allowed others to use its protocol, “there might be better competitors for AirPods.”

But Zuckerberg's scathing criticism is not without personal interest, as Meta had long-term problems with Apple and with the latter's 30% of some transactions through its app store, according to the report.

Apple's restrictions on the iPhone's iOS operating system made it difficult for Meta to compete on devices and stipated billions of dollars in advertising revenue for the company.

Zuckerberg said that if Apple's “random rules” were not enforced, Meta would make “double profits or something like that.”

Apple is under increasing pressure to change its closed policies for its devices, operating systems and app store. It has made changes in the European Union in response to new laws targeting its policies, and is facing a lawsuit from the US Department of Justice for its monopoly on smartphones.

But the company seems determined to maintain its closed ecosystem until it has to change.

Zuckerberg believes that Apple's reliance on "exploiting only its products" would ultimately hurt the company. He said Apple "was far from its course in terms of not launching many innovative things."

He added that the technology industry is "very dynamic," and "if it does not perform well for 10 years, it will eventually be defeated by someone."