In an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently criticized Apple, accusing the tech giant of stifling innovation and enforcing restrictive policies. While acknowledging the iPhone’s transformative impact on global connectivity, Zuckerberg said Apple has not produced groundbreaking products since Steve Jobs launched the iconic smartphone nearly two decades ago.
Zuckerberg noted that the iPhone made phones accessible and allowed for incredible things. “However, Apple has since coasted, imposing arbitrary rules on developers and failing to deliver significant innovation.” Declining iPhone sales were attributed to the lack of meaningful upgrades, he said, and that Apple profits by charging developers a 30 percent commission and selling accessories like AirPods.
Zuckerberg also attacked Apple’s restrictive ecosystem, saying it stifles competition by making it hard for third-party devices to seamlessly work with iPhones. Instead, he argued that Apple’s focus on privacy and security policies could be better addressed by stronger encryption, not by heavy-handed developer restrictions.

Zuckerberg said Apple’s justification for its policies is ‘insecure’ because ‘you didn’t build security into it.’ Removing these restrictions could potentially double Meta’s profits, he added.
Since Apple’s 2021 privacy updates, which gave users more control over their data but significantly hurt Meta’s advertising revenue, tensions between Meta and Apple have only grown. These policies, Zuckerberg said, favor Apple’s own interests over real innovation. Zuckerberg commented on Apple’s mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, saying it was a rare attempt at innovation, but that the first version “didn’t hit it out of the park.”
Zuckerberg’s comments reflect a broader industry worry that platform owners like Apple use their power to stifle competition. With Meta and Apple’s rivalry growing, there are still questions about the balance between platform control, developer freedom, and true innovation.