Meta

Meta, Microsoft, X, and Match today joined Epic Games to protest the way Apple complied with a court ruling requiring it to walk back its anti-steering rules. In an amicus brief in support of ‌Epic Games‌ (via The Wall Street Journal), the four companies said that the fees Apple is charging are too high, and that there are too many restrictions on how developers link to their websites. "The Apple ...

Apple's first-generation Vision Pro headset is an "over-engineered devkit" that ships with more sensors than is necessary to deliver Apple's intended experience. That's according to Hugo Barra, former VP of Android and head of Meta's phased-out Oculus headset brand. Barra, who oversaw the Oculus team in 2017 after it was acquired by Facebook, has published a surprisingly balanced in-depth...

In October 2022, Apple updated its App Store Review Guidelines to clarify that sales of "boosted" posts in social media apps must use the App Store's in-app purchase system. Apple thereby receives up to a 30% cut of these sales. As a result of that clarification, Meta today announced that it will soon charge advertisers a 30% fee when they purchase boosted posts through the Facebook and...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has criticized Apple's compliance with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulation, which forces Apple to let third-party developers create alternative App Stores and use their own payment systems, amongst other things. Speaking to investors on Thursday during Meta's Q4 earnings call, Zuckerberg called Apple's new rules "so onerous" that he would not be surprised ...

The Meta Quest VR headset will soon be able to play spatial videos captured on an iPhone 15 Pro or ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max, Meta announced today. The upcoming v62 update will add support for the feature. Spatial videos can be uploaded to the Meta Quest headset using the Meta Quest mobile app, so that the stereoscopic videos captured on the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ models can be relived on Meta's device...

Meta is "optimistic" that the launch of Apple Vision Pro will help reinvigorate the headset market and drive more users towards its Quest devices, according to Wall Street Journal report. Meta Quest 3 Formerly known as Facebook, Meta in 2021 changed its name in part to communicate its vision of a future "metaverse" in which people don its headsets and interact with each other in a completely...

Google, Meta, Qualcomm, Nothing, Lenovo, Opera and several other tech companies have announced a collaborative effort to push for "open digital ecosystems" in what appears to be a pointed move against Apple (via Reuters). The group, calling itself the Coalition for Open Digital Ecosystems (CODE), seeks to encourage more open platforms and systems in Europe. Other members include Motorola,...

Facebook parent company Meta today announced the upcoming launch of the $500 Meta Quest 3, its newest mixed reality headset that goes up against the much more expensive Vision Pro that Apple plans to launch next year. Meta claims that the Quest 3 was redesigned from the inside out, and it features "4K+ Infinite Display resolution" thanks to two displays with a 2064x2208 resolution per eye...

Meta today released its overhauled WhatsApp app for macOS, introducing support for group calls, dragging and dropping files, and more. The new native Mac app is optimized for large displays and desktop-class experiences like dragging and dropping files into chats and viewing more messages in chat histories. It also touts better performance and supports WhatsApp group calls from macOS for the ...

Meta today started rolling out a highly-requested "Following" tab in its Threads app, allowing users to view posts from accounts they follow in reverse-chronological order. The app continues to show algorithmically recommended posts under the "For you" tab. The addition of a "Following" tab brings Threads more in line with its rival Twitter, and it will make the app more useful for keeping...

The Threads social network from Meta today received its first significant update that introduces a range of new features that improve the functionality of the social network. Updates include a tab for seeing who follows you so you can follow them back, an option to subscribe to unfollowed users, improvements to activity feed loading times, and translation option to translate posts that are in a...

In a companywide meeting with employees today, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to Apple's announcement of the Vision Pro, according to The Verge's Alex Heath. Zuckerberg said the Vision Pro has no "magical solutions" that Meta has not thought of, and "costs seven times more" than its recently-announced Quest 3 headset. Zuckerberg added that Apple's announcement "really showcases the...

Facebook parent company Meta today announced the Quest 3, its next-generation mixed reality headset launching later this year. The announcement comes just days ahead of WWDC, where Apple is expected to unveil its own long-awaited AR/VR headset. Meta said the Quest 3 features a 40% slimmer and more comfortable design, a higher-resolution display, and up to twice the graphics performance as...

Facebook owner Meta has been hit with a record $1.3 billion (€1.2 billion) fine by European Union regulators for mishandling user information, and has been ordered to suspend the transfer of data from users in the EU to the United States. The fine was issued by Ireland's Data Protection Commission, which regulates Facebook across the EU, after it ruled that the social network's data...

Facebook Messenger's Apple Watch app will be discontinued at the end of this month, according to Meta, ending the ability for users to reply to messages on the service from their wrist. Posts shared on social media carried a screenshot of a notification sent to a handful of users in recent days informing them that Messenger won't be available as an Apple Watch app after May 31, but that...

United States Facebook users who had an active Facebook account between May 2007 and December 2022 can now apply to receive a portion of the $725 million that Meta paid to settle a class action lawsuit over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. Claims can be submitted on the Facebook User Privacy Settlement website through August 25. Facebook users who want to get a payout will need to...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the weekend announced the upcoming launch of a new "Meta Verified" subscription service that's designed for Facebook users, which will provide verification for $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 per month on the iPhone or the iPad. Zuckerberg described Meta Verified as a subscription that lets individuals verify an account with a government ID, get a blue...

Meta has scrapped the development of its health and messaging-focused smartwatch, in an abrupt end to the company's plans to directly compete with the Apple Watch. Employees were reportedly told on Friday that work on its smartwatch project would be halted as part of a cost-cutting effort that will involve structural changes to the company. Meta's smartwatch development team will now...

WhatsApp is "far more private and secure" than Apple's iMessage platform, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has claimed in a new Instagram post. In a post sharing a Meta billboard in New York City promoting WhatsApp over SMS or iMessage, Zuckerberg said WhatsApp is far better for privacy-concerned users thanks to its end-to-end encryption, ability to set messages to disappear after a set period of...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has criticized Apple's pricing strategy by claiming that the tech giant typically "charges as much as it can" for hardware, whereas Meta will take a different approach by selling products like its new $1500 AR/VR headset at a "break even" price point, or in some cases even a loss (via Business Insider). In a podcast interview following the launch of Meta's new "Quest ...