Gene Munster, the managing partner of Deepwater Asset Management, has drawn parallels between the burgeoning rivalry between Meta Platforms Inc. META and Apple Inc. AAPL over AR/VR headsets and the ill-fated competition between Blackberry Ltd BB and Apple in the smartphone market in 2007.
What Happened: Munster took to X, formerly Twitter, and referenced a Wall Street Journal article on Meta's readiness to take on Apple in the headset war.
He evoked memories of 2007 when Blackberry “welcomed” Apple to the smartphone market, suggesting a similar fate might befall Meta in its quest to compete with Apple’s advancing technologies.
“I believe history will repeat itself,” he said.
According to the report in question, which cited unnamed sources, Meta executives are "optimistic" and believe that Cupertino's entry into the AR/VR and mixed reality market will simply validate Mark Zuckerberg's vision for the category and bring in more customers.
This narrative is similar to what Zuckerberg has previously said about Apple's entry into the AR/VR market.
Why It Matters: Munster’s comments come at a time when Meta and Apple are making significant strides in the VR and mixed-reality headset market.
Apple is expected to launch the first iteration of its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset on Feb. 2 and has reportedly already started working on the next generation of its newest product.
On the other hand, Meta’s Quest 3 VR headset, priced at $499, was launched last year.
However, drawing on past events, Apple took over Blackberry’s market by innovating and presenting a new paradigm of smartphones. Blackberry, which once held a 50% share of the smartphone market, decommissioned the phones in January 2022.
The iPhone is currently considered the best-selling product of any kind in history.
The tech behemoth’s misfortune was largely attributed to underestimating the potential of Apple’s innovative approach. Echoing the past, Munster's comparison hints at the possibility of history repeating itself, with Meta potentially underestimating Apple’s prowess in the VR headset market.
Previously, Munster commented on Vision Pro's pre-order weekend, saying that the headset could take up to two years to hit the one million unit sales milestone — a slower pace than the iPhone's initial uptake.
The managing partner has earlier also predicted that eventually, 10% of the iPhone maker's revenue will come from its mixed-reality headset.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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