Where Apple’s Vision Pro Leaves Meta

Mark Zuckerberg will have to overindex on openness, and hang in tightly, if he wants his big Metaverse bet to pay off.

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Hi everyone, Apple’s Vision Pro announcement generated a lot of buzz last week; not all of it positive. And while we’re years away from learning whether the doubters or boosters were right, we can at least make some informed predictions.

On Big Technology Podcast, I dig into the new device and its chances of catching on with Ranjan Roy and Apple reporter extraordinaire Mark Gurman. You definitely don’t want to miss this one.

You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast app of choice.

In the near term, Apple’s announcement will put it in direct competition with Meta. It’s headset vs. headset, the battle the tech gods dreamed of. In this week’s Big Story, I explore what that competition might look like.

Also, keep an eye out for this week’s Big Technology podcast, where I’ll sit down with Bob Muglia, former CEO of Snowflake, to discuss whether Artificial Intelligence will ‘save the world,’ , his new book, and the origin story of Microsoft Azure — which he was present for.

And now, this week’s Big Story:

Where Apple’s Vision Pro Leaves Meta

The mood within Meta was defiant, if a bit uneasy. After spending years screaming — howling — that mixed reality was the next great computing platform, the company watched as Apple, its chief antagonist, entered the fray with a leading device last week. Apple’s big push into the space was validating for Meta, a signal it wasn’t that crazy for being so bullish on the metaverse, but it instantly changed its role.

Instead of being the only major player with a mixed reality consumer device, Meta will now settle into a position akin to Android’s on mobile. In this case, Meta’s started first, with plenty of developer relationships in hand. But unlike Android, it doesn’t offer an operating system to all device manufacturers, something that may have to change.

“Zuck’s aspiration was always to be the Android option,” Josh Miller, an ex-Facebook product manager, told me. “He knew…