Apple Maps may display ads in search results

Apple Maps is getting ready to introduce ads in the app. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple could introduce promoted slots in search results.

Apple Maps on the web debuted last year and supports all major web browsers on desktop, and is even available for Android browsers. Just when you thought things were improving, this happens. But Apple has been working on this for a few years. A report from earlier this year also hinted this could happen, so this isn't completely out of the blue.

Gurman says that Apple Map will be similar to the Search Ads on the App Store. Advertisers can pay to be featured more prominently. These won't be displayed as banner ads. Rather, the app will show sponsored results, where restaurants, businesses are featured.

Google Maps does this too, it displays "Promoted Pins" that appear different to regular pins. There are also sponsored search results for businesses, as well as some suggested places like restaurants. The report claims that Apple Maps will have a "better interface" than Google and other map services. It's unclear what that means. Apple will also use AI to ensure the ads are "relevant and useful". Of course, when we are talking about ads, we should consider privacy too. Ads and privacy aren't a good mix, so this could result in users migrating from Apple Maps.

Apple has been promoting various subscriptions like AppleCare+, Apple TV, Apple Music, etc., across iOS, iPadOS, macOS. That's not unlike what Microsoft does with Office 365, OneDrive, on Windows. That's just Microsoft being Microsoft. Google is an ad-company, so it's not unusual for it to sell ads, that's its main source of income. Apple on the other hand focuses on premium devices, so it is a bit disappointing to see it navigating away in the opposite direction.

Apple may bring ads in Apple Maps next year. If you're looking for a privacy-friendly map and navigation app, I'd recommend Organic Maps or OsmAnd for iOS. Both apps use OpenStreetMap data, are open source, free, and work offline. They are also available for Android on the Google Play Store (Organic Maps / OsmAnd) and F-Droid (Organic Maps / OsmAnd).

Would you mind if Apple introduced ads in Apple Maps?

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