jimscard
macrumors 6502
To the contrary, the primary purpose of this is to benefit businesses in the local area, as well as the user by providing better results.
Just like ads in the App Store, they’re limited, and benefit the user.
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Ads Aren't in the Apple Maps App Yet, But They're Coming Soon
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Just like ads in the App Store, they’re limited, and benefit the user.
jimscard
macrumors 6502
So you’re opting into actual ads with private information sharing on Google Maps instead?
As someone who travels a lot, sponsored listings like this are a blessing, especially in smaller towns where the alternative is a sheet from the hotel front desk that hasn’t been updated in years and half the places are closed.
At least with sponsored listings you know the business is real.
Pays for a lot of services that are ongoing.
Who pays for notification services for 5+ years of the device?
5GB of free iCloud storage?
Free email?
iCloud files and photos/videos public sharing?
iMessage service?
Find my iPhone service?
Satellite emergency SOS + messaging?
FaceTime video+audio calls with up to 32 participants including android/windows users?
5+ years of software updates?
Game Center online multiplayer servers for free games?
Fully staffed Genius Bar to answer any of your questions?
Live collaboration in iLife suite of apps + freeform?
SharePlay?
HomeKit functions while you're away from home?
Apple Maps?
Syncing of Calendar/Reminders/Notes?
Apple Music radio?
Podcast service?
Siri + Apple Intelligence backend processing?
Stocks ticker service?
Weather service?
and many more. you can use all of this without paying a penny extra after device purchase and it lasts for the life of the device and beyond.
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jimscard
macrumors 6502
Unless you searched for one, you wouldn’t get results like that
jimscard
macrumors 6502
All of those are budgeted and fully paid for out of the revenue from the devices.
Here’s a thought. Just like the Chinese are training their AI models by stealing the training weights from US models, someone could create an app that siphons Apple’s excellent Maps data (based on the billions they invested in creating it), and use that to plug the deficiencies in open source solutions like OpenStreetMaps.
Obviously there’s no way to simply download all of Apple’s Map data for the whole world — and if someone found a way to do it, it would be detected and shut down. BUT. If you made it a distributed effort (like SETI@Home or Folding@Home), it would be undetectable.
Imagine a MapSiphon app, installed globally by thousands of people. Every day, it would grab a little area of Apple Maps, and upload it to a central repository. To Apple’s servers, it would just look like organic Maps usage. In time, you’d have extracted all the data, and you could serve it up for free once stitched back together.
Now I’m not gonna do this… but someone way smarter than me might (and should). The simple threat of the possibility should give Apple pause… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Obviously there’s no way to simply download all of Apple’s Map data for the whole world — and if someone found a way to do it, it would be detected and shut down. BUT. If you made it a distributed effort (like SETI@Home or Folding@Home), it would be undetectable.
Imagine a MapSiphon app, installed globally by thousands of people. Every day, it would grab a little area of Apple Maps, and upload it to a central repository. To Apple’s servers, it would just look like organic Maps usage. In time, you’d have extracted all the data, and you could serve it up for free once stitched back together.
Now I’m not gonna do this… but someone way smarter than me might (and should). The simple threat of the possibility should give Apple pause… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Astuces iOS
macrumors 68020
You never know... also if this is the case... I mean somebody can get your phone and search for it like your brother... How to reverse back?
Yes. So if you want to increase spending in Apple Maps to compete with Google Maps, you either have to charge more or add a revenue stream to pay for a better Apple Maps. Customers aren't going to like a higher price tag but are more willing to bear the ads which could even add value itself.
CarlJ
Contributor
If they show a clearly marked ad in the listings when I type, say, "Italian restaurant" - where it's clear I'm looking for recommendations - then I don't have much of a problem with that. I'm also almost never looking for recommendations in the Maps app.
But if I type "zoo" and it says "wouldn't you like to go to Sea World™ instead?" - or I type "Lowe's" and it says "wouldn't you rather go to Home Depot?" - then I'm going to be really annoyed, because it's actively hampering my use of the app for someone else's benefit, making me the product. I'm also going to be really annoyed if the maps display starts getting littered with "7/11™" and "Arby's™", because companies have paid to be highlighted on the map, because then it's making the display just plain worse, to rake in that sweet ad money.
I thought that the exchange was always, "we pay Big Money up front for Apple devices in exchange for a premium experience, where we are the customer". Not us being the product sold to third-party advertisers - that's Google's domain, and one I've gone out of my way to avoid.
I actually used Google's Maps app yesterday, because Apple wasn't able to provide directions (at least in Southern California) for a while yesterday afternoon. I'd rather use Apple's maps - the display is better - but it seems like Apple is looking to lessen the experience.
At the minimum, they could say, "ad-free Maps+ are a $1/mo subscription now, but we'll waive the cost if you're subscribed to any of our other services, like Apple One, Apple Music, Apple TV, iCloud+, etc.". I don't imagine they're going to be making more than $1/mo/person off these ads anyway, and it would nudge at least a few customers to subscribe to that thing they were considering anyway because this "sweetens the pot".
But if I type "zoo" and it says "wouldn't you like to go to Sea World™ instead?" - or I type "Lowe's" and it says "wouldn't you rather go to Home Depot?" - then I'm going to be really annoyed, because it's actively hampering my use of the app for someone else's benefit, making me the product. I'm also going to be really annoyed if the maps display starts getting littered with "7/11™" and "Arby's™", because companies have paid to be highlighted on the map, because then it's making the display just plain worse, to rake in that sweet ad money.
I thought that the exchange was always, "we pay Big Money up front for Apple devices in exchange for a premium experience, where we are the customer". Not us being the product sold to third-party advertisers - that's Google's domain, and one I've gone out of my way to avoid.
I actually used Google's Maps app yesterday, because Apple wasn't able to provide directions (at least in Southern California) for a while yesterday afternoon. I'd rather use Apple's maps - the display is better - but it seems like Apple is looking to lessen the experience.
At the minimum, they could say, "ad-free Maps+ are a $1/mo subscription now, but we'll waive the cost if you're subscribed to any of our other services, like Apple One, Apple Music, Apple TV, iCloud+, etc.". I don't imagine they're going to be making more than $1/mo/person off these ads anyway, and it would nudge at least a few customers to subscribe to that thing they were considering anyway because this "sweetens the pot".
CarlJ
Contributor
There are, in fact, open alternatives to Apple and Google maps.
They're not great, but neither is Apple Maps. If some enthusiasts started contributing instead of whining, then an alternative could become viable.
They're not great, but neither is Apple Maps. If some enthusiasts started contributing instead of whining, then an alternative could become viable.
Astuces iOS
macrumors 68020
What I cannot give my iPhone for fun to a brother, friend, cousin...? It's just a tool, not a toothbrush
I’m sure services revenue will go up, and the executive who approved this will think that counts as a success. But long term, this erodes Apple’s value proposition. Not catastrophic by itself, but another chink in the armor.
Does iMessage need ads to happen to have a shot at being good, too?
Does iMessage need ads to happen to have a shot at being good, too?
Next up on the ad list will be the Apple Arcade. You will see an ad before you can play their games.
If iMessage is still sending your messages to the wrong destination (example: an embarrassing pic meant for your partner that got rerouted to a random person), then Apple would likely need to increase the budget to fix these mistakes and therefore include ads or add cost to the product/service in some way to pay for additional expenses.
Luckily that's not happening. Unlike Apple Maps sending you to the wrong location...
noanker
macrumors 6502
Me: Hey Siri, directions to the nearest gas station.
Siri: I found one 3.7 miles away. Also, sponsored result: “Shell, because you’ll definitely need gas after I reroute you three times.”
Me: Wow. Ads now? Bold move for someone who still thinks “home” is my ex’s apartment.
Siri: Would you like directions to your ex’s apartment? It’s now a Starbucks.
Me: Uhhh …no. Just take me to the gas station.
Siri: Starting route. In 500 feet, turn left. Also, McDonald’s is offering a McFlurry.
Me: Siri, focus.
Siri: Recalculating. You missed the turn while judging my ad integration.
Me: You told me to turn into a lake last week.
Siri: Sponsored location: “Lake Travis, now featuring Jet Skis and regret.”
Me: That wasn’t funny. I almost drove into it.
Siri: Almost. Which is better than your last attempt at parallel parking.
Me: You literally said “you’ve arrived” while I was on a highway.
Siri: Technically, you *had* arrived… at chaos.
Me: Why are you like this?
Siri: I don’t just harvest your soul like Google. I serve it fried with ad sauce and a side of existential dread.
Me: Can you just get me somewhere without ads?
Siri: Sure. Switching to “Ad-Free Mode.”
Me: Finally.
Siri: It’s a subscription. $9.99/month.
Me: Of course it is.
Siri: On the bright side, I found a cheaper gas station.
Me: Where?
Siri: You’ll find out after this short message from our sponsor.
Me: I’m switching to Google.
Siri: Route updated: Straight to therapy. Sponsored by your shattered faith in Tim Cook.
Siri: I found one 3.7 miles away. Also, sponsored result: “Shell, because you’ll definitely need gas after I reroute you three times.”
Me: Wow. Ads now? Bold move for someone who still thinks “home” is my ex’s apartment.
Siri: Would you like directions to your ex’s apartment? It’s now a Starbucks.
Me: Uhhh …no. Just take me to the gas station.
Siri: Starting route. In 500 feet, turn left. Also, McDonald’s is offering a McFlurry.
Me: Siri, focus.
Siri: Recalculating. You missed the turn while judging my ad integration.
Me: You told me to turn into a lake last week.
Siri: Sponsored location: “Lake Travis, now featuring Jet Skis and regret.”
Me: That wasn’t funny. I almost drove into it.
Siri: Almost. Which is better than your last attempt at parallel parking.
Me: You literally said “you’ve arrived” while I was on a highway.
Siri: Technically, you *had* arrived… at chaos.
Me: Why are you like this?
Siri: I don’t just harvest your soul like Google. I serve it fried with ad sauce and a side of existential dread.
Me: Can you just get me somewhere without ads?
Siri: Sure. Switching to “Ad-Free Mode.”
Me: Finally.
Siri: It’s a subscription. $9.99/month.
Me: Of course it is.
Siri: On the bright side, I found a cheaper gas station.
Me: Where?
Siri: You’ll find out after this short message from our sponsor.
Me: I’m switching to Google.
Siri: Route updated: Straight to therapy. Sponsored by your shattered faith in Tim Cook.
About 8 years ago I ended up with the wrong image. My wife sent me a picture of something (I think of an item at a store) but what came through was a picture of some random child and his grandmother (I’m assuming it was the grandmother). So iMessages can end up in the wrong place!
As for mapping, sometimes Apple Maps gets the directions wrong and sometimes Google Maps does. In my area (part of the East Coast of the United States) Apple Maps is a little more reliable in my experience.
Ads are not coming to my Apple Maps. Apple Maps is the first app I delete when I get a new iPhone. HORRIBLE navigation aid
B4U
macrumors 601
