--- title: Are Apple and Meta rivals now? - The Hustle description: The tech titans are clashing over metaverse ambitions and ads. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2089517818-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-07T225917.930Z.webp --- # Are Apple and Meta rivals now? ![Rob Litterst](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Rob-Litterst-pic.png?width=48&height=48&name=Rob-Litterst-pic.png) [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst) [Rob Litterst Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/robbylit) Published: September 08, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 A decade ago, it would have been hard to envision a world where Apple and Facebook were direct competitors. ![Are Apple and Meta rivals now?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2089517818-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-07T225917.930Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=2089517818-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-07T225917.930Z.webp) But a combination of moves by both firms have pinned them against each other in two business units: ads and AR/VR headsets. A brief timeline: - **In 2014, **Facebook [bought](https://about.fb.com/news/2014/03/facebook-to-acquire-oculus/) Oculus for $2B — its first foray into hardware. - **In 2021, **Apple released App Tracking Transparency (ATT), a feature that let users choose which apps track them, spelling [bad news](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2022/04/23/apple-just-issued-stunning-12-billion-blow-to-facebook/?sh=717916101907) for Facebook. - **Later in 2021,** Facebook [changed](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2295438-why-has-facebook-changed-its-name-to-meta-and-what-is-the-metaverse/) its name to Meta to establish itself as a leader in the metaverse, something its Oculus headsets would facilitate. - **In 2022, **Apple CEO Tim Cook [teased](https://www.tomsguide.com/news/tim-cook-teases-apple-vrar-headset-strategy-in-new-interview) an AR/VR headset, and the company announced [plans](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-08-14/apple-aapl-set-to-expand-advertising-bringing-ads-to-maps-tv-and-books-apps-l6tdqqmg?sref=3Ac2yX40) to ramp up its advertising ambitions. Recent job listings suggest Apple could pose a serious threat to Meta on both fronts. And after recently [surpassing](https://hypebeast.com/2022/9/apple-iphone-overtakes-androids-us-market-share) Android for US smartphone market share, Apple is likely the last company Meta wants to compete against. Topics: [Facebook](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/facebook) [Apple](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/apple) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Meta vs. Canada is a long pattern of dismantling news](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1038385209-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-newspaper_20230823220232.webp) ### Meta vs. Canada is a long pattern of dismantling news - ![Meta’s latest metamorphosis is a mixed bag](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/548836041-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Meta_morphosis_20230717231041.webp) ### Meta’s latest metamorphosis is a mixed bag - ![We tried Threads, Meta’s Twitter competitor](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1037422333-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-threads-meta_20230706225014.webp) ### We tried Threads, Meta’s Twitter competitor - ![Apple vs. apples](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1513285514-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-apple_20230620222824.webp) ### Apple vs. apples - ![Mac made a big change for gamers](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1504600100-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-gamingonapple_20230619221300.webp) ### Mac made a big change for gamers - ![Why Apple is betting big on Vision Pro: Because it can](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/GIFs/377284949-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Apple_Vision_Pro_20230606003404.webp) ### Why Apple is betting big on Vision Pro: Because it can - ![Why Meta’s ‘leaner is better’ feels extra contagious](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1759004967-HS-News-Brief_2023-03-15T004959.472Z.webp) ### Why Meta’s ‘leaner is better’ feels extra contagious - ![Meta looks to broaden Horizon’s horizons in 2023](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/125410848-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-08T013601.673Z.webp) ### Meta looks to broaden Horizon’s horizons in 2023 - ![Is India Apple’s next frontier?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/33849681-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-24T003327.742Z.webp) ### Is India Apple’s next frontier? - ![Meta’s board wants new nudity guidelines](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/509999999-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-19T010328.295Z.webp) ### Meta’s board wants new nudity guidelines Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Rob Litterst", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/rob-litterst" }, "datePublished" : "2022-09-08T06:24:30.000Z", "headline" : "Are Apple and Meta rivals now?", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2089517818-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-07T225917.930Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/09082022-apple-meta", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Rob Litterst", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:51:22+0000", "datePublished" : "2022-09-08T06:24:30+0000", "headline" : "Are Apple and Meta rivals now?", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2089517818-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-07T225917.930Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```