Inside the high-stakes tech rivalry as Apple’s Tim Cook bets big on augmented reality to outpace Meta and define his legacy beyond the iPhone.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is reportedly laser-focused on one mission: beating Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg to market with a revolutionary pair of smart glasses. According to sources cited by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Cook is pouring his energy almost exclusively into the development of augmented reality (AR) wearables—viewing them as a defining product of his tenure at the helm of the world’s most valuable tech company.

“Tim cares about nothing else,” said a source familiar with Apple’s internal priorities. “It’s the only thing he’s really spending his time on from a product development standpoint.”

The rivalry between Apple and Meta in AR and virtual reality (VR) has intensified over the past decade. While Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro headset debuted in early 2024 to mixed reviews and reportedly sluggish sales, Meta has been iterating its VR and AR offerings for years. The tech giants are in a high-stakes race to shrink bulky headsets into sleek, functional smart glasses that could one day become as ubiquitous as smartphones.

A Battle of Philosophies—and Personal Legacies

For Cook, the stakes are as personal as they are professional. Though he’s steered Apple to record-breaking profits—over half the company’s revenue still comes from the iPhone—critics argue he lacks the product visionary flair of his predecessor, Steve Jobs. The Vision Pro marked one of the few new hardware categories under Cook’s leadership. With Apple having reportedly abandoned its electric car project, pressure is mounting for its AR ambitions to pay off.

Zuckerberg, meanwhile, sees the “metaverse” as the next evolution of the internet and has invested heavily in AR and VR hardware. Meta acquired Oculus for $2 billion in 2014 and launched its first consumer headset two years later. In recent years, Meta released Ray-Ban Stories, and its in-development Orion glasses have impressed early reviewers. The company is chasing a vision where virtual and physical realities seamlessly blend, enabling avatars and digital content to flow freely across platforms and devices.

The philosophical divide between the two tech titans is stark: Apple favors tightly integrated hardware and software, while Meta aims to keep its platforms device-agnostic. Zuckerberg has publicly acknowledged the rivalry, describing it as a “very deep, philosophical competition.”

Competing Realities

The Vision Pro, launched in February 2024, offers a mixed-reality experience through advanced eye-tracking and external cameras, enabling users to interact with both digital and real-world environments. It’s being marketed for both entertainment—like watching a movie on the surface of the moon—and productivity, with the ability to mirror Mac desktops.

Zuckerberg didn’t waste time responding to Apple’s Vision Pro. He posted a pointed Instagram video comparing it to Meta’s own Quest 3 headset, emphasizing its lighter weight and lower cost, while taking veiled jabs at Apple’s design and price point. The exchange underscored just how much this competition has become a personal matter between the two CEOs.

A Decade in the Making

Cook’s fascination with AR isn’t new. He has championed the technology publicly since at least 2016, when he told investors he was “high on AR for the long run.” He later predicted it would become as common in daily life as eating three meals a day. Over the years, he’s touted AR’s potential across industries—from education to sports to enterprise—emphasizing that the technology’s time is coming.

Yet for all his enthusiasm, Apple has only recently made significant hardware moves in the space. The Vision Pro was years in the making and is still seen as a precursor to the real goal: a pair of lightweight, stylish AR glasses that consumers will wear daily.

To make that happen, both Apple and Meta are spending heavily. Apple committed $31.4 billion to R&D in 2024, a nearly 5% year-over-year increase. Meta outspent even that, dedicating $43.9 billion to research and development, up 14% from the prior year.

A New Defining Product—or Another Misstep?

The future of AR glasses could define the next decade of tech—and the legacy of Tim Cook. While the Apple Watch and AirPods have found commercial success under his leadership, other products like the HomePod and AirTags haven’t generated the same level of consumer excitement. With its car project scrapped and Vision Pro’s sales reportedly underwhelming, the pressure is rising for Apple to deliver something truly groundbreaking.

The race to AR glasses isn’t just about beating Zuckerberg to market—it’s about proving that Apple, under Tim Cook, can still shape the future of consumer technology.