Since March of this year, we’ve known of Apple’s plans to incorporate advertisements into its first-party Maps application for iDevices sometime this summer, and that time has finally arrived. As per 9to5Mac, Apple has confirmed that ads are now rolling out to Maps across the US and Canada, with the full North American rollout set to continue in the weeks to come.
Apple Maps users can expect ads to show up in their main search pane, euphemistically located under a Suggested Places banner. Likewise, ads will appear within search results themselves.
These Maps advertisements display a set of promoted businesses in your local area, which Apple says is user-private by default, using on-device information without sharing data with any first or third party companies. Additionally, Apple says none of the ads you click on will be tracked by your Apple Account.
Notably, these new Maps ads can’t be opted out of via settings. In that sense, they function similar to ads found within the App Store itself. Even if you’re an Apple One subscriber, ads will still populate your Maps experience whether you like it or not.
Ads have arrived on Apple Maps
The surfacing of advertisements within free-to-use software services is nothing new, and that’s certainly the case when it comes to mapping applications. Google Maps, for its part, has featured similar suggestions within its app interface for several years now. Apple too is no stranger to advertisements, featuring them across such services as Apple News and Apple TV.
Until now, Apple Maps has been a unique holdout in that it didn’t feature suggested locations or businesses. Of course, market pressures are a very real reality, and it was only a matter of time before ads hit the Maps scene in earnest. It’s just unfortunate that Apple One subscribers won’t benefit from an ad-free Maps experience, despite paying a recurring fee for access to a more premium set of services.
That being said, the implementation of ads within Apple Maps doesn’t appear to be too egregious at the moment, which is the one silver lining. If ads are here to stay within Maps across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, then I hope they remain tethered to a simple Suggested Places section and within search results, rather than creeping into more areas of the interface over time.
