Apple to Introduce Ads in Apple Maps as Part of Services Revenue Push

[MacRumors]

Apple is planning to include ads in Apple Maps search results as soon as this summer, reports Bloomberg. Apple is aiming to earn more money from its services division, and it could announce plans for Maps ads as early as this month.

Ads in Apple Maps will be similar to ads in Google Maps. Retailers and brands will be able to bid for ads associated with search categories. Starbucks, for example, might display an ad when someone searches for coffee. Restaurants will be able to bid for search terms, and the highest bidder's ads will appear at the top of the results for a given term.

Apple plans to display ads in the iPhone app, Mac app, iPad app, and on the web. We first started hearing about ads in the Maps app last year, but now the feature is nearing completion.

Revenue from ads could make up for current and future changes to the App Store that could limit the money that Apple earns, or from the loss of any search deals with Google due to ongoing regulatory issues.

In January, Apple said that it would show additional ads in App Store search results starting on March 3, expanding the number of ad slots in search. App Store searches previously showed just one ad, but Apple is rolling out multiple ad slots. Apple expanded App Store ads in the UK and Japan first, and will bring them to other markets like the U.S. by the end of March.

Apple also rebranded its ad business from "Search Ads" to "Apple Ads" last year as part of its plan to show ads in more places.

Article Link: Apple to Introduce Ads in Apple Maps as Part of Services Revenue Push

 

[Corefile]

Nope. This means I will simply refuse to use Apple Maps even though I don't use them now as they suck.

 

[MacUserFella]

Can’t wait for Maps+ with no ads and unnecessary AI features

 

[Reason077]

Yay! We all know Apple doesn't have enough revenue!

 

[kenta_]

Ok, I’ll be the first to to say it… Steve would never have…

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

In that case… I’ll be finding directions to another map app.

 

[platinumaqua]

How will the apologists spin this as positive?

 

[Anonymous123]

For those who don’t know what it’s called, this is a prime example of en********ation.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Gross.

This side of the Services push is so sad to watch unfold.

 

[pigeonguy]

In that case… I’ll be finding directions to another map app.

Which one? They all have ads.

 

[WWP99]

Trime for an alternative to Apple Maps. Apple keeps finding new ways to push me out of their ecosystem. Not much longer now before I start using even more alternatives.

 

[AppleMatt]

Gotta deliver more revenue every year! For reasons!

Adverts in first party apps suck (didn’t Jobs once explain why Apple wouldn’t do that…?) and in this case they’ll be added on top of the existing forced integration with Yelp!

More broadly, Apple’s transition from a Best in Class company for user experience to what it is today: Just Another Company (ie like all the others), has been freeing for me. I no longer feel an internal pressure to buy Apple things because they’re the best; they no longer are. And I’m broadening out. Adverts in Maps is part of that transition.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I mean, if they’re gonna do it in maps, how much longer until they start doing it in all kinds of other places we won’t like?

 

[mrpither]

Every penny they can squeeze from us. Waiting for targeted ads to start popping up on my Apple watch as I walk by vendors etc.

 

[ThailandToo]

Yeah. I can’t wait switch to Google Maps and continue my distain for giving Apple money on top of money for services and hardware and repairs and continues. I don’t like the lock in, the OS is junk but the hardware and SoC are great. I do plan to try getting all my services from different sources and not allowing any platform to dominate my ability to use software and services I want. I don’t like the monopolistic behavior from these tech giants. It’s not capitalism anymore it’s monopolistic capitalism which is something entirely different. Pay off enough people, who are supposed to be caring for constituents, and you can be as big as you want.

 

[Siliconguy]

Ok, I’ll be the first to to say it… Steve would never have…

That reminds me of a long ago Dilbert.

Apple must have decided to wrap Job's body in copper wire and replace the head stone with a horseshoe magnet. Then when the ads start Job's will spin in his grave and since they have a rotating conductor in a magnetic field they can generate Green power to run the AI servers. 😉

 

[realLucaR]

Every penny they can squeeze from us. Waiting for targeted ads to start popping up on my Apple watch as I walk by vendors etc.

...which is exactly why I have never owned an Apple Watch. I'll stick to my automatic Rolex Air-King that has been showing me the time now for 5+ years nonstop.

Even though I work in tech and love Apple products, but an Apple Watch is just too intrusive to me still.

 

[svanstrom]

Apple entering their villain era.

 

[realLucaR]

Mark my words, there will be some stupid subscription to remove ads from iOS sometime in the future. How damn ridiculous..

 

[turbineseaplane]

Which one? They all have ads.

I think the person’s point is that they were using Apple Maps specifically because they did not have ads.

If they’re all gonna have the same bad experience in terms of advertisement one might as well just choose the best actual mapping platform and for many folks that is Google Maps.

 

[jakebrosy]

So, if I don’t search for crap in Apple Maps I won’t see ads for crap? DEAL!

 

[dominiongamma]

Nope. This means I will simply refuse to use Apple Maps even though I don't use them now as they suck.

Apple Maps was always bad

 

[neuropsychguy]

Will this thread beat the 400+ comments from the previous one about it?

I don’t like ads. I go out of my way to run several layers of ad blockers on my devices. I stopped using Waze because it has noticeable ads (Google Maps has some but fewer, although both are Google products).

I don't think users are happy about the potential for ads being added and I don't think they should be added. Apple's fiscal team, shareholders (which are many of us who have any sort of retirement or investment account), and businesses who might see increased revenue because of buying ad space within the Map are likely happy about this though.

While I'm not in favor of ads being added to Apple Maps, the one neutral comment I'll make about this is that rising services revenue allows Apple to keep overall margins up and hardware prices lower than they would be otherwise. Personally, I’d pay more to avoid things like this, but many people are more price conscious and accept the trade off of lower prices supplemented by services margins.

For example, at $599 ($499 for education), the MacBook Neo is Apple’s cheapest laptop ever. While Apple is still making a profit on the hardware, the margins on the Neo are likely lower than their usual 36% to 39%. It's hard not to admit that this product exists in part because of Apple's rising services revenue and the high margins of that. That product also encourages ecosystem buy-in and likely future upgrades to higher priced products.

If the ads are intrusive, I'll look elsewhere for mapping. Apple Maps works extremely well in my use of it. So does Google Maps (and Waze). It's going to be difficult to switch to something without ads since both Google Maps and Waze have ads. I don't drive enough in new places to justify paying for navigation software. I'm not going back to a physical maps since I gave those up more than 20 years ago.

 

[Siliconguy]

In that case… I’ll be finding directions to another map app.

I use one of these;

DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer Washington

Amazingly detailed and beautifully crafted, large-format paper maps (11-inches x 15.5-inches).Topographic maps with elevation contours, major highways and roads, dirt roads, trails and land use data.Contains information essential for any outdoor enthusiast, such as points of interest, landmarks...

mapstore.mytopo.com

Batteries never need charging. Works even when you are outside of cell phone range, and even in deep canyons when the GPS can't find three satellites at once.

 

[contacos]

I mean, if they’re gonna do it in maps, how much longer until they start doing it in all kinds of other places we won’t like?

The Weather App already shows News in some instances