Mark Zuckerberg is done playing nice.
For years, the relationship between Meta and Apple has been a "cold war" characterized by passive-aggressive privacy updates and snide remarks during earnings calls. But things just shifted. Zuckerberg basically just declared open season on the iPhone.
He didn't do it with a flashy keynote or a dramatic "one more thing" moment. Instead, he laid it out in a technical manifesto and a series of blunt interviews that paint a very specific picture: the era of the smartphone is peaking, and Meta is building the thing that will kill it.
Honestly, it’s about time someone said it. The iPhone has been the "gatekeeper" of our digital lives for nearly two decades. Zuckerberg is betting $100 billion that you’re ready to take those glowing rectangles out of your pockets and put them on your face.
The "Personal Superintelligence" Manifesto
Last year, Meta’s chief started using a very specific term: personal superintelligence.
It sounds like sci-fi jargon, but it’s the core of his strategy to unseat Apple. Zuckerberg’s vision is that we are moving toward a world where glasses—not phones—are our primary way of interacting with the world. He recently noted that devices which can "see what we see and hear what we hear" will eventually make the iPhone feel like a clunky relic of the 2010s.
Think about it.
Right now, if you want to use AI, you have to pull out a phone, unlock it, find an app, and type. It’s a series of friction points. Zuckerberg wants to bypass that entirely. If you're wearing Ray-Ban Meta glasses, the AI is already there. It’s looking at the ingredients on your counter and telling you what to cook. It’s translating a street sign in real-time. It’s living in your ear.
This isn't just about cool gadgets. It’s about platform independence. Meta is tired of paying the "Apple Tax"—that 30% cut Apple takes from app developers. They’re tired of "App Tracking Transparency" wiping out billions in ad revenue overnight. By building the next hardware platform, Zuckerberg isn't just competing with the iPhone; he’s trying to delete the need for it.
Why the Vision Pro Missed the Mark (According to Zuck)
You can’t talk about this war without mentioning the Apple Vision Pro. When Apple launched its $3,500 "spatial computer," the tech world expected Meta to pivot or panic.
Instead, Zuckerberg went on a mini-tour explaining why he thinks Apple got it wrong. In a widely shared video, he argued that the Quest 3 isn't just a better value—it’s actually a better product for most people.
- Price: $500 vs. $3,500. It’s not even close.
- Weight: Meta’s hardware is lighter, making it actually wearable for more than twenty minutes.
- Open vs. Closed: This is the big one. Zuckerberg is positioning Meta as the "open" alternative, much like Windows was to Mac in the 90s, or Android is to iOS today.
He’s banking on the idea that history repeats itself. Apple usually wins the early "luxury" market, but open ecosystems tend to win the long game because they allow for more variety and lower prices. Zuckerberg’s "bitterness" (his own word) over Apple’s restrictive App Store rules has fueled a desire to ensure the next generation of computing isn't a walled garden.
AI: The New Front Line
The war has moved beyond just headsets. We’re now in an AI arms race.
While Apple has been cautious with "Apple Intelligence," focusing on on-device privacy and Siri upgrades, Meta has gone full throttle. They released Llama 3.1 and subsequent models as "open weights," meaning almost anyone can use them.
It’s a strategic move to commoditize the very thing Apple is trying to sell as a premium feature. If high-quality AI is everywhere and free (or cheap), the "intelligence" of the iPhone becomes less of a selling point. Zuckerberg is spending billions on H100 chips to make sure Meta AI is the smartest assistant on the planet, regardless of whether you're using it on a phone or a pair of glasses.
He’s even started poaching AI talent with $100 million pay packages. You don't spend that kind of money unless you're trying to win a war.
The Problem With the "Walled Garden"
Zuckerberg’s recent criticisms have been sharper than ever. He’s called Apple’s compliance with European regulations "onerous" and "at odds with the intent" of the law. He’s essentially accusing Apple of malicious compliance—making it so difficult for developers to use alternative app stores that they just give up.
This is the "soul-crushing" experience he’s talked about. Imagine building a feature your users want, only to be told by a rival company that you aren't allowed to ship it because it violates an "arbitrary" rule. That’s the reality Meta has lived in for a decade.
What This Actually Means for You
So, is the iPhone going away tomorrow? No. Obviously not.
📖 Related: Nokia 2780 Flip Unlocked: Why This Basic Phone is Actually Winning in 2026
But the "war" means we are about to see a massive divergence in how tech works. Apple will continue to double down on privacy, premium hardware, and a tightly controlled user experience. Meta is going to push for "open" AI, cheaper hardware, and a future where the internet is something you wear rather than something you hold.
The real winners here are the consumers, but only if you like options.
If Zuckerberg succeeds, your next "phone" might just be a pair of Wayfarers that look exactly like the ones you wear to the beach. If he fails, Meta remains just another app on Apple’s home screen, subject to the whims of Tim Cook.
Actionable Insights for the Near Future:
- Don't buy into the $3,500 hype yet. If you're curious about mixed reality, the Quest 3S or Quest 3 offers 90% of the usable experience for a fraction of the cost.
- Watch the Smartglasses space. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses are the "Trojan Horse" of this war. They are the first wearable tech that people actually want to wear because they look normal.
- Expect "Meta AI" to show up everywhere. Meta is integrating their assistant into WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. It’s a play to become your primary search and utility tool, bypassing Safari and Google.
The battle lines are drawn. Zuckerberg is betting the entire company—literally—on the idea that the iPhone's days as the center of the universe are numbered. Whether he's a visionary or just "deeply bitter" depends on whether you're ready to trade your screen for a pair of lenses.
Expert Note: This article reflects the competitive landscape as of early 2026. While Meta has seen record revenue and user growth, the hardware transition to glasses remains a multi-year play. Apple's "walled garden" is under intense regulatory pressure in the EU, which may inadvertently help Meta's "open" strategy gain traction.