This F1 stunt in your Apple Wallet deserves a penalty flag

Summary

iPhone users upset over an Apple Wallet push notification promoting F1 movie tickets.
Complaints on social media about the inappropriateness of the promotional notification.
Despite hype around F1 movie, Apple’s push notification violates its own app guidelines.

No matter how excited you might be about the new F1 movie, you can’t argue with the untold number of iPhone owners that are upset about an advertisement popping up on their phones today. This morning, users received a push notification from Apple’s own first-party Wallet app promoting a limited-time $10 discount on two or more tickets when they buy through Fandango.

Starring Brad Pitt and featuring new songs by pop stars like Tate McRae, the feature film dives into the world of Formula 1 — the highest class of international auto racing. The movie was shot at real Grand Prix races, and has thus far been quite well-received for the most part. However, what isn’t being well-received (at all) is the advertisement that came from one of Apple’s own first-party apps.

I reorganized my Apple Wallet and you should too

Your Apple Wallet deserves better (mine definitely did).

Even if you are excited for the F1: The Movie

Social media and Reddit have been raging with complaints regarding the push notification. When I received the notification myself this morning, I stopped everything I was doing — which was actually listening to Tate McRae on a run, ironically — to make sure I didn’t get a surprise charge on my card or some kind of bill. Many other users responded the same way, as the Wallet app is meant for personal finances.

The uproar is undeniable, and it isn’t without grounds — the promotional nature of the notification is in direct opposition to Apple’s own guidelines for all other App Store apps:

User profiles in the tvOS 17 Control Center.

I can’t believe tvOS 26 is still missing a basic feature

There’s still work to be done.

What skin does Apple have in F1’s success?

It has Apple’s name on it, literally

Brad Pitt and my iPhone notification. — Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple / Pocket-lint

Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple / Pocket-lint

F1 The Movie is a flick straight from Apple Original Films. In collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures and the filmmakers from Top Gun: Maverick, Apple spared no expense in promoting the upcoming film. Obviously, the company wants its investment to do well for the sake of its reputation, but also because of the use of iPhone technology in the production itself.

No one is denying the deserved hype around the high-octane movie, but the advertisement that hit iPhones this morning is leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths. Apple may have taken it just a step too far as it doubled back on its own promotional policy — yikes.