Mashable: Zuckerberg has been promoting the idea of interoperability for the metaverse since changing Facebook's corporate name to Meta.

Mark Zuckerberg thinks Apple and his business are engaged in a "really profound, philosophical fight" to create the metaverse, implying that the two digital behemoths are prepared to square off in the market for hardware for augmented and virtual reality.

According to a report, The Verge was able to obtain a recording of the CEO of Meta's remarks at an internal all-hands meeting when he stated that they were competing with Apple to decide "what direction the internet should go in." He claimed that Meta would present itself as Apple's more accessible, less expensive rival. Apple is anticipated to introduce its first augmented reality headgear as early as later this year.

The simmering conflict, according to Zuckerberg, is a contest of ideologies. "They think that by doing everything themselves and tightly integrating that they provide a superior consumer experience," he remarked. "And we think that there is a lot more specialization across multiple organizations to be done, and will allow a much broader ecosystem to flourish," the statement continued.

Zuckerberg has been promoting the idea of interoperability for the metaverse since changing Facebook's corporate name to Meta, or what he sees as the next significant chapter in computing after mobile phones. Recently, Microsoft, Epic Games, and Meta collaborated to establish the Metaverse Open Standards Group. The goal is to encourage the development of open protocols that will make it simple for people to walk across immersive, 3D worlds in the future with their virtual goods.

In his remarks to staff, Zuckerberg noted that Apple's absence from the group was not unexpected. It's not entirely clear up front whether an open or closed ecosystem is going to be better for the metaverse, he said, adding that Apple's strategy of creating hardware and software it tightly controls had worked well with the iPhone.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook has been open about the business's interest in augmented reality as a category, but the company has remained, as is customary for it, mute about its secret hardware ambitions. Even still, all indications point to the impending release of a premium headgear that blends fully immersive VR with augmented reality experiences that superimpose over the actual world. Later this year, Meta intends to produce a comparable headset with the codename Cambria. The company is also getting ready to launch its first real set of augmented reality glasses.

In the event that VR and AR become as popular as Zuckerberg anticipates, it appears he wants to position Meta as the Android to Apple's iOS. The Meta Quest headset already permits side loading of apps that have not been authorized by Meta's VR app store, similar to how Google's Android permits sideloading. Furthermore, Meta's hardware is still primarily sold at a loss or breakeven, despite the recent $100 rise in Quest's pricing.

There has never been much agreement between Apple and Meta. Because of its prompt that asks users if they want a third-party app to monitor them for presenting advertising, the former is currently losing the latter billions of dollars a year in lost ad income on iOS. According to Zuckerberg's comments, the two tech titans will continue to compete for years to come even as he attempts to innovate his way out of being controlled by Apple on mobile.