Google has been taking swipes at Apple for copying it for a few years now, mainly when it comes to their Pixel phones, but here’s one more instance of Apple taking cues from Google, and not in a good way: paid placement and ads while you’re trying to navigate.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a reliable Apple analyst and fountain of unconfirmed Apple rumors (which often come true), reports that Apple has moved past its years-long dithering and decided to press ahead with a plan to insert advertisements into Apple Maps in early 2026.
Think promoted placement, too. “(It) will allow restaurants and other businesses to pay to have their details featured more prominently within the app’s searches,” according to Gurman.
That’s the last thing any of us need, and isn’t Apple already the second or third-richest company in the world? Do they need this extra bit of income that badly?
One of the few reasons to keep using it
I’ve been a perennial defender of Apple Maps for more than a decade now, although my defense has grown more lukewarm in recent years as I switched all my driving navigation to Waze.
Google Maps offers better bicycle navigation, with routes explicitly designed to use protected bike lanes—oh, and public transportation. Google Maps has more intuitive navigation on public buses, trains, and subways.
Where was I going with this?
Oh yeah, that Apple Maps still had its place. I prefer its driving announcements coming further in advance than Google Maps’, and I enjoy that it isn’t loaded down with ads trying to get me to buy the latest piece of junk I don’t need.
That sort of thing I expect from Google. It is, after all, more of an advertisement company than a hardware or software company. God help us if Google ever figures out how to buy a cloud. We’ll start seeing ads for USB cables projected on it every time we look up.
The post Rumor: They’re Gonna Put Ads in Apple Maps Soon appeared first on VICE.
