Steve Jobs Invented the iPhone, Apple Just Sat On It for 20 Years, Slams Meta CEO Zuckerberg

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a critical stance against Apple on Friday, accusing the tech giant of lacking innovation and imposing unnecessary restrictions on developers. During his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, Zuckerberg acknowledged the iPhone’s role in revolutionizing global connectivity but expressed disappointment with Apple’s failure to introduce groundbreaking products in recent years.

“On the one hand, [the iPhone has] been great, because now pretty much everyone in the world has a phone, and that’s kind of what enables pretty amazing things,” Zuckerberg remarked. “But on the other hand, they have used that platform to put in place a lot of rules that I think feel arbitrary and [I] feel like they haven’t really 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 further suggested that iPhone sales were struggling due to a lack of substantial upgrades in new models, instead pointing to Apple’s business strategy of profiting by “squeezing people” through a 30% commission on developers and pushing consumers to purchase additional products like AirPods.

“They build stuff like AirPods, which are cool, but they’ve just thoroughly hamstrung the ability for anyone else to build something that can connect to the iPhone in the same way,” he noted.

He also claimed that Meta’s profits could double if Apple were to stop enforcing what he described as “random rules.”

In addition, Zuckerberg criticized Apple’s privacy and security policies, which the company frequently cites to justify its stringent rules. He argued that Apple could address the issue by improving its security protocols, such as enhancing encryption, rather than restricting third-party developers.

“It’s insecure because you didn’t build any security into it,” Zuckerberg pointed out. “And now you’re using that as a justification for why only your product can connect in an easy way.”

Zuckerberg also commented on Apple’s mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, which has struggled with disappointing sales. “I think the Vision Pro is, I think, one of the bigger swings at doing a new thing that they tried in a while,” he said. “But I mean, the V1, it definitely did not hit it out of the park.”