Meta and Apple Take Their Rivalry to Virtual Reality

Meta finds itself facing a potential threat to its business from a familiar foe: Apple. Just months after Apple's privacy change threatened Facebook's advertising model, the social networking giant shifted its focus to virtual reality and rebranded as Meta. 

However, Apple seems determined to move in on Meta's territory once again, unveiling its ambitious mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, during its annual developer conference.

During the conference kick-off, Apple CEO Tim Cook enthusiastically touted the Vision Pro, a groundbreakingdevice priced at $3,499, which seamlessly integrates virtual reality and augmented reality. Scheduled for an early launch next year, the Vision Pro places Apple in direct competition with Meta, which has been developing headsets for years.

To pre-empt Apple's anticipated headset announcement, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the stage on Thursday to tease the Meta Quest 3. This new headset promises enhanced performance, innovative mixed-reality features, and an improved, sleeker design—all at a more affordable price point of $499.

The tech industry has been marked by intense rivalries throughout its history, and Apple has been at the center of many such battles. Apple's rivalry with Microsoft defined the early era of personal computing, while late CEO Steve Jobs declared war on Google over smartphones. 

Now, the emerging virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) era might witness the defining rivalry between Apple and Meta. Although the VR headset market is still in its infancy, analysts expect uptake to increase markedly in the coming years.