The two Silicon Valley companies delivered astonishing gains in revenue and profits over the past quarter on Wednesday, in the latest indication that BigTech is delivering to pandemic-hit users all over the world.

Apple and Facebook logo

The Recent quarterly updates from the two Silicon Valley companies emphasized, how consumers have relied on social media, digital services and gadgets in the wake of the global health crisis.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors in a call, that Apple is becoming its biggest competitor, with a strong grip on its rival smartphone messaging service and App Store, the only gateway to iPhones.

Apple has every incentive to interfere with the way our platform, and other apps function, which they regularly prioritize on their own. It may say it is doing this to assist people, but the motive clearly indicate its competitive interests, Zuckerberg said

Apple said, the holiday profit rose 29 percent to $28.7 billion from a year earlier, while revenue rose 21 percent to $111.4 billion, accounting for nearly two-thirds of international sales.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called Apple's quarterly earnings a "jaw-dropper" and said strong iPhone sales in China were a boon to the company's fortunes.

The more iPhones people have, the more Apple has the opportunity to sell them in music, games, televisions, and more for the company, which has been a preference for the company

Apple has reported $100 billion in sales for the first time since it reported tangible benefits in selling iPhone, wearables, and digital content with new gadgets and services to intermittently affected customers.

We are thrilled to have responded to the excitement of an unparalleled line of innovative products this historic holiday season, said Chief Executive Tim Cook.

Also Read: ICT Sector in dire need of Stability in 2021

The news was similar on Facebook, which saw an increase in the basic user base in the world in which the corona virus spread.

Facebook reported revenue of of $11.2 billion, an increase of 53% and 33% over revenue of $28 billion compared to the same period last year.

We had a solid end to the year as customers, and business people continued to enjoy our services during these difficult times, Mark said.

REACHING 3.3 BILLION

While 3.3 billion people used at least one of its “family” of apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, its core social network had about 2.8 billion users at the end of December, Facebook said.

Silicon Valley Colossus notes in a statement that it faces significant uncertainty in the coming year. Citing recent regulations that could limit how it delivers targeted advertising

Facebook has made the most of its revenue from advertising, and said it has benefited from the fact that pandemic have accelerated the pace of change in online commerce, especially for products that opposed services such as booking travel.

Facebook said in a release: "Looking forward to moderation, or reversal in either of these two trends could be the way to increase our advertising revenue.

CONFLICT OVER PRIVACY

Facebook has also warned that it expects to face strong headwinds from an evolving regulatory landscape and measures such as Apple's transition to its mobile operating system to make advertising more difficult to target.

While the timing of the iOS 14 transition is uncertain, we await to see an impact by the end of the first quarter, Facebook said.

A major social networking company fired at Apple last month, saying new measures to collect data from iPhone makers and targeted advertising would hurt small businesses. 

Altercation erupts among the tech giants over changes to Apple's latest version of iOS operating software, including a tracking transparency feature that Facebook claims has compromised its ability to deliver targeted ads.