Meta’s Costly Reality

Mark Zuckerberg has become a watch nerd. In his appearance at Connect on Wednesday, he was flashing a timepiece identified by Redditors as this one costing tens of thousands of dollars, at least the third such ultrapricey watch he has sported lately. It’s all part of a recent style makeover that also includes gold chains and loud shirts. It’s smart: The watches, in particular, set Zuckerberg apart from his counterparts at Apple, who invariably wear more utilitarian Apple Watches while in public. 

It makes sense that Zuckerberg wants to differentiate himself from Apple folks, given how much Meta has pitted itself against Apple—most noticeably this week in mixed reality. His demonstration suggested that Quest is a worthy alternative to Apple’s Vision Pro—at a tenth of the cost. Meta’s latest Quest costs just $299 compared to Vision Pro’s $3,500 price tag.