Apple Maps has come a long way since it replaced Google Maps on iOS in 2012. Detailed roads, precise directions, and a visually pleasing interface are just some of the perks you can expect. Unfortunately, Apple decided that its navigation app needed the worst feature found in Google Maps, and there’s no way to turn it off.
When Apple ditched Google Maps for its own app on iOS 6 (yes, 6, which launched in 2012), it was a complete mess. Roads were missing, directions were inaccurate, and the satellite view showed jagged and misshapen spans of highway. Ditching Google for its own map service was one of the worst decisions executed under Tim Cook’s new leadership.
‘Mobile ads suck.’
However, instead of throwing in the towel, the company spent years improving the mess it made. The result was a surprisingly complete navigation system that addressed all previous issues and turned Maps into a reliable road companion that works as you’d expect. In fact, once the bugs were stomped out, Apple Maps became a cleaner and prettier alternative to Google Maps, just as Apple envisioned.
Unfortunately, that’s all about to change.
Although Google is known for many things, its core business is all about ads. It’s an ad company, with more than half of its annual revenue attributed to this category. Google ads show up everywhere — in online searches, webpages, and even in some of its apps, like Google Maps.
Apple, on the other hand, is a hardware company that has since dipped its toes into services to expand its bottom line. It is not an ad company, but that hasn’t stopped Apple from taking the plunge into Google’s arena.
Apple Maps Ads/Apple
Much to users’ chagrin, Apple has brought ads to the Apple Maps experience for the first time. Now, when you search for a place — like a fast-food restaurant or a grocery store — Maps will offer up the expected list of locations, plus new paid options.
These show up as “Suggested Places,” making them sound more like friendly recommendations, but don’t be fooled.
These are paid placements added by companies trying to get your attention and your money.
On the bright side, ads don’t show up with every search in Apple Maps — just the ones where Apple has a relevant paying partner. Still, it’s sad to see Apple inject ads into its services for a bit of extra revenue, where the high prices of its devices once sufficed.
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Xaume Olleros/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The late Steve Jobs likely would’ve disapproved. He even once went on record to proclaim that “mobile ads suck,” largely because they disrupted the user experience. Apple’s most recent former CEO, Tim Cook, believed differently. According to Mark Gurman, Cook said “digital advertising is not a bad thing. What is not good is vacuuming up people’s data when they’re not doing so in an informed basis. We try to put the user in the driver seat there to own their data.”
As for what new CEO John Ternus believes, we don’t know yet. He just took the reins of the company at the start of September, and he has a lot of work ahead. That said, ads in Apple Maps just launched, so unless Ternus is adamant about their removal, they’re not likely to go away anytime soon.
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