RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Apple Maps is now showing ads for users in the US and Canada
Currently, ads appear as the top result in search and Suggested Places
Users are unsurprisingly unhappy about this change, with some saying they'll switch to Google Maps
We’ve known they were coming for a while , but now ads have started appearing in Apple Maps for users in the US and Canada, meaning that not every result you see on the search screen will be organically placed.
As confirmed by Apple to 9to5Mac , Apple Maps is now starting to show ads in ‘Suggested Places’ on the search screen before you enter a search query, and in the search results.
In both cases you’ll at most see one ad, and this will be at the top of that section, with a blue ‘ad’ label marking it out. So at least they should be easy to ignore and scroll past.
Still, while this might benefit businesses, it’s undeniably a downgrade for Apple Maps users, and there’s no way to opt out of it, even if you’re paying for Apple services like iCloud+ or Apple One.
An unpopular change
(Image credit: Apple)
Unsurprisingly, this hasn’t been met with much approval from Apple fans, with users on Reddit saying things like “now with ads, there's absolutely no reason to use Apple Maps,” “I'll just use Google Maps,” “this is a bad move,” and “the main reason I used Apple Maps was because of no ads.”
Indeed the consensus — at least among initial online reactions — seems to be that Google Maps is better in most ways, with Apple Maps previously only being preferable due to its lack of ads. So without that differentiation, many users may jump ship for Google’s service.
One Reddit user summed it up with: “Google Maps is 100% more accurate and functional than Apple Maps. The only benefit Apple Maps had was that it didn't have ads so now that they've removed that, there's literally no reason to have this icon on your home screen anymore.”
That said, a few replies point out advantages that Apple Maps may still have, such as a perception at least of better privacy and it being less of a drain on your phone’s battery. So perhaps there could still be reasons to stick with Apple.
And of course, online complaints won’t necessarily mean Apple Maps will lose lots of users. Chances are, most people will stick with what they know. But either way, this is definitely a bad change — hopefully it won’t be a slippery slope to more intrusive ads.
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