Adapted by:
Isra Fdez
ContributorTwelve years of cultural critique, audio design, and tech consulting. Editor-in-chief at Applesfera.
Alba Mora
WriterAn established tech journalist, I entered the world of consumer tech by chance in 2018. In my writing and translating career, I've also covered a diverse range of topics, including entertainment, travel, science, and the economy.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s technology career has been extensively documented. It goes beyond director David Fincher’s two-year effort to chronicle the origins of Facebook and his film The Social Network. A technocrat always leaves traces behind.
In her novel Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook executive close to Zuckerberg, reveals some of the Meta CEO’s tech habits. She describes him as someone who avoids talking to experts and spends hours hidden behind his laptop screen. The book has generated considerable attention. Although it’s become a bestseller, Meta halted its promotion on Facebook and Instagram. The company claims the tell-all book is “misleading and unfounded.”
Zuckerberg’s MacBook, With or Without the Apple Logo
In his younger years, Zuckerberg used several IBM systems. He had a preference for ThinkPads, such as the ThinkPad T14s–a 14-inch model manufactured by Lenovo with Intel graphics. According to him, he’s been using it for 20 years.
Click on the image to view the original post on Instagram.
However, Zuckerberg is known to prefer Apple computers. A Facebook post features him with a MacBook, although the glowing Apple logo has been edited out. Contrary to what some might believe, he doesn’t have a unique MacBook without an Apple logo.
Click on the image to view the original post on Facebook.
Zuckerberg works with a MacBook despite his personal reservations. The relationship between Apple and Meta is strained, particularly between Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Cook has openly criticized Facebook, saying that the company is “built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all.” The Meta CEO responded that this viewpoint is “extremely glib.”
Years of back and forth have passed. Zuckerberg was said to have pressured his management team to stop using iPhones and switch to Android devices. Although there’s no concrete record of this claim, Zuckerberg has taken more than one jab at Apple on his own Instagram account. In an interview with NBC, Cook later responded, “We’re not going to traffic in your personal life,” referring to users’ data.
In a recent interview, Zuckerberg said that Apple, without former CEO Steve Jobs, lacked direction and hadn’t innovated since the launch of the first iPhone. He was particularly critical of the Vision Pro, adding, “They shipped something for $3,500 that I think is worse than the thing that we shipped for $300 or $400.” This ongoing tension has extended to product launches, including the upcoming Meta glasses developed in partnership with Ray-Ban.
Despite this friction, Zuckerberg is a programmer and prefers Mac computers. He’s been spotted on multiple occasions playing with a MacBook and the Kano tool alongside his daughter.
Several former Facebook and Meta employees have pointed out that Zuckerberg historically spent an average of 10 hours a day on his computers. These included a MacBook Air with its distinctive wedge design and Apple Silicon processor, and a 13-inch MacBook Pro. He’s also seen with an iPhone and a Magic Mouse.
Additionally, on the Windows side, he’s known to have used a custom PC from QuinLogic, a San Francisco-based hardware and software company, featuring an Intel Core i7-3770K processor and an Nvidia GeForce graphics card.
Zuckerberg has likely since upgraded to a more powerful setup, especially to handle AR and VR gaming. However, his relationship with Apple has clearly been long-lasting, even if he tries to downplay it.
Images | Anthony Quintano | Facebook | Apple
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