In a surprise twist, Meta is suddenly crushing Apple in the innovation battle

I just finished watching Mark Zuckerberg give his keynote address at Meta Connect 2024, the company’s big deep dive event into their technologies and research. Think of it as roughly the equivalent of Apple’s WWDC but for Meta’s tech.

Just a few weeks ago, I watched the annual Apple event launching the new iPhone 16 line, and I couldn’t help but be struck by the contrast. Meta seems to be pushing hard to get to the future. Apple, for the most part, seems to be coasting.

Also: Meta takes some big AI swings at Meta Connect 2024

Well, that’s not really fair. Apple is constantly innovating and improving its products. The company has enormous engineering investments. But, with a few surprise exceptions, like the AirPods Pro 2 now available as hearing aids, Apple seems like a lot of the same ol’ with a new coat of paint.

In fact, the new AirPods Max are exactly that. All Apple did was change the port and add some new colors. I’d like to tell you more about Apple Intelligence on my brand new $1600 iPhone 16 Pro Max, which Apple claims was built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence. Except Apple Intelligence isn’t ready yet. Pieces will be rolled out over a couple of releases.

Also: 6 ways the new AirPods Max could have been so much better

And then there’s Meta. I can see why Zuckerberg changed the company name from Facebook because what we saw at Connect 2024 was way more than just Facebook.

What I saw at Meta Connect 2024

First, we saw the company confidently expanding its Quest product line. The Quest 3S will be priced at $299 and ship in October. It’s a lower-cost version of the Quest 3 but can do all the things Quest 3 can do, especially real-time pass-through. That means you can see your surroundings and interact with them.

Meta also reduced the price of the higher-end Quest 3, bringing the $649 512GB model I have down to $500. Zuckerberg ended this segment with an oblique dig at Apple’s enormously expensive Vision Pro devices. He said, “We don’t just innovate to expand the state of the art. We also advance and innovate to bring it to everyone.”

But there was more. There were the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, which are now infused with Meta’s AI assistant. The glasses can do translations on the fly, remember things, identify objects, and even act as eyes for blind folks through the Be My Eyes partnership.

Also: 4 exciting Ray-Ban smart glasses features Meta just announced at Connect 2024

Zuckerberg also showed off a development prototype of Project Orion. These are full holographic glasses, where you see through true lenses, and holographic image generators insert graphics between your eyes and the lenses. They use hand gestures, voice recognition, and even a neural interface that registers wrist motions.

But wait, there’s more. Zuckerberg showed two powerful deep fake features from its Meta AI offering that will have you questioning what’s real. First, Meta created an AI avatar of a real person, with the AI performing exactly as if you were talking to the real person through a video call. Lip motion, facial expression, and head movement seemed natural and realistic. 

Also: How Apple, Google, and Microsoft can save us from AI deepfakes

Then, Zuckerberg showed a real-time translation dubbing feature for Reels, where you might record a reel in English, but the software will show you speaking in Spanish (and vice versa). Once again, all the facial and lip movements were perfectly synchronized to the speaking.

Apple Vision Pro vs. Meta Quest 

Apple’s Vision Pro has some capabilities and features that are much more high-end than those on the Quest 3. But as I discussed previously, and at one-seventh the price, the Quest 3 is the better overall product.

Meta, with products like the Quest 3S, seems to be relentlessly driving their products into consumer acceptance. Apple seems to be content to simply have bragging rights on a concept demo it sells for $3,500.

Zuckerberg gives a very strong demo and it’s clear he’s quite chuffed by the work his company is doing on mixed reality and AI. While Code Llama and Meta AI performed fairly poorly in my programming tests, the company’s AI demos were impressive.

The fact that Meta is releasing its LLM to the public while Apple keeps everything very close to the vest is also a strong statement about the company’s artificial intelligence efforts.

Also: 10 features Apple Intelligence needs to actually compete with OpenAI and Google

That said, there have been rumors that budgets have been cut at Reality Labs, the Meta operation responsible for creating the mixed reality devices.

The caveat for me 

There is still one key difference between Apple and Meta, at least for me. My work productivity revolves around Apple devices in the Apple ecosystem (with a little help from Linux and Windows). Meta, and I’m including Facebook and Instagram here, doesn’t help me produce work output, except for my regular posting of updates to socials.

Fundamentally, Apple helps me make money. Meta doesn’t. So my budget for Apple expenses will reflect that, as I’m sure it will for many other Apple customers.

Also: You can buy 11 Meta Quest 3S headsets for the price of one Apple Vision Pro

Even so, it’s been a while since we’ve seen Apple introduce a game-changing home run. Meta, with its Quest line, the Ray-Ban glasses, and the upcoming Orion project, may have a grand slam on its hands.

A year ago, I would never have expected I’d ever say this. But Meta’s announcements are a lot more exciting than Apple’s right now.

While Apple continues to refine and perfect its ecosystem with incremental improvements, Meta is taking bold leaps into the future with its mixed reality and AI innovations.

Also: Meta Quest 3 review: The VR headset most people should buy in 2024

Zuckerberg’s company seems more focused on pushing boundaries, whereas Apple seems content with maintaining its hold on productivity and premium status.

Meta’s vision may still need to be fully realized, but the ambition is undeniable. Meta is trying to create a new platform, and if mixed reality becomes as ubiquitous as Zuckerberg seems to think it will be, desktop machines and smartphones will suffer. That’s something Apple should take notice of before it becomes too late.

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