Apple may be about to try sneaking ads into one of its default apps

The latest rumor in the Apple sphere is that the company is resurrecting the idea of inserting ads into one of its most vital apps, Apple Maps. That’s right, I said resurrecting — Bloomberg reports that the company did some initial engineering work in 2022, but abandoned the idea until just recently. In fact the company is only said to be “giving this notion more thought” again, so it could be many months, if ever, before you see ads when navigating with your iPhone.

Just the idea of dealing with ads during your commute should raise some concerns, however. Personally, I wonder if it could be a sign of worse things to come, of Apple following a path other tech firms have gone down to the detriment of everyone but shareholders.

The threat of crapification

Euphemisms used to protect the innocent

There’s a term coined by writer Cory Doctorow that I can’t use directly — but let’s say it’s also known as “crapification,” and is a handier way of describing a phenomenon known as platform decay. As Doctorow describes it, there’s a common pattern in which platforms initially offer a great product at a great price to attract users, but then focus on attracting business/supplier customers, exploiting that userbase. Once both users and business customers are locked in, the platforms then turn to increasing shareholder value by any means necessary, tweaking things until the product loses its original appeal. Doctorow might point to apps like Facebook and Google Search as major examples, noting how they’re now full of ads, and focused on showing you what their makers want you to see — not necessarily the things you actually care about.

I probably don’t need to explain it to you, but the harm of crapification is real. With Google Search, it’s annoying at best and misleading at worst to have to scroll past sponsored (or artificially search-optimized) results to find something that’s genuinely useful. Facebook’s changes have influenced world politics — consider how often you’ve probably been fed rage bait, or news shared from questionable sources. The same can be said for Twitter, which since becoming X has allowed fascists and other hatemongers to come out of the woodwork.

Apple probably isn’t going to go down the path of X, but there’s an obvious crapification risk in allowing paid search ads in an app as important as Apple Maps. People tend not to scroll far in searches, so ads may literally steer people towards the businesses willing to pay for certain keywords, regardless of how well-matched those businesses are. Imagine, for instance, seeing Taco Bell appear up top when you’re searching for “Mexican restaurants” in Austin. Taco Bell can afford to pay more than anyone — but it’d be heresy to choose them for Mexican food in Texas. Indeed, there’s a risk of ads diverting sales from independent businesses that desperately need new customers.

Those things are already an issue with Waze and Google Maps. Apple Maps has been a refuge so far — so injecting ads could both surrender an advantage and tarnish Apple’s reputation. It’s bad enough that when you search for something on the App Store, you’re already likely to see an ad for a junk app up top, rather than the best-reviewed options.

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Will Apple steer clear?

Nothing is set in stone

It’s hard to tell if Apple will follow through. As I mentioned, it abandoned Maps ads once before, possibly even for the reasons I’ve mentioned. Certainly Apple is conscious of its image as more user-friendly than its rivals. For that, you can point to its very public battles with advertisers, politicians, and even law enforcement over maintaining privacy.

At the same time, Apple has every incentive to wring more cash out of its services. The iPhone isn’t the dependable growth driver it used to be, and there’s nothing on the horizon to replace it. That’s meant trying to extract more revenue elsewhere, including the likes of Apple Music and Apple TV+. In that regard, Apple Maps could be a low-hanging fruit — some users might not even notice or care about ads, and if Apple thinks that’s true for enough people, it could decide to move forward. It has tens of thousands of shareholders to appease, after all.

I’m cautiously optimistic that Apple will hold off. For one thing, Apple Maps is still in a fragile state. While it’s preloaded on Apple devices, it continues to face tough competition from Google Maps, which got a years-long headstart and is almost defiantly multi-platform. There’s no Android version of Apple Maps, and only Google has a meaningful web interface. Some vehicles are shipping with Google Maps, too, whereas Apple’s next-generation CarPlay will never be preloaded on anything, assuming it gets out the door one day. It would be strange for the company to risk ceding what popularity Apple Maps does have.

If nothing else, Apple has bigger fish to fry. It is, for example, still working to deliver promised Apple Intelligence features, which all of its devices are now anchored to thanks to marketing campaigns. Diverting some teams to Maps ads might only slow AI development further, with no guarantee of higher profits on the other side. Apple would, of course, have to convince advertisers that it’s worth investing in Maps ads, and that might be difficult if those ads are as privacy-focused as Apple prefers.

Time will tell. If ads don’t show up by the time iOS 19 launches this September, I think there’s a strong chance that’ll mean Apple decided against it again. I imagine the idea will always sit in its back pocket, though.

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