privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo uses Apple's MapKit JS framework to offer its online mapping services, meaning DDG s have a roundabout way of accessing Apple Maps on non-Apple devices.
Apple Maps was launched in 2012 as a competitor to Google Maps, with the promise of many new features. Apple even made its own mapping system the default on iPhones, replacing Google Maps. However, the launch did not go as planned, with most s lambasting the new service for its many glitches and inaccurate directions. The complaints spawned many a meme, most ridiculing Apple for its half-baked service. However, over the years, Apple has reduced the gap with Google Maps, ensuring that the Apple Maps experience is today somewhat similar to that of Google Maps.
In his Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman revealed that Apple is working on starting to show ads in Apple Maps. The company currently displays ads inside the App Store and in select apps like Apple News and Stocks. However, the vast majority of the company's native apps remain ad-free, although that might change in the coming years. As far as Apple Maps is concerned, Gurman claims that the change will be implemented sometime next year, although the ads will differ vastly from traditional in-app ads.
Ads On Apple Maps
Instead of showing ads as a banner at the top and bottom of the screen, as is the practice with traditional in-app ads, Apple Maps might contain paid search results similar to what can be seen within Google search. According to Gurman, Apple Maps might show sponsored listings for a Japanese restaurant at the top of its search results on Apple Maps when s search for 'sushi.'
Alongside Apple Maps, the company is also reportedly working on expanding its ad network to include its books and podcast apps, where publishers could pay to appear higher in search results. While the ads in Apple's apps and services sound similar in theory to how Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines show ads in their search results, the ads at the top of these search engines are marked as such. It will be interesting to see if Apple will also follow a similar practice for its ads on Apple Maps and other apps.
Source: Bloomberg/PowerOn