Archive for March 26, 2026

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Ads in Apple Maps

Joe Rossignol (Hacker News):

Apple is “exploring” the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

[…]

Ads in the Apple Maps app would not be the traditional banner ads that you see on websites, but rather paid search results. For example, a fast food chain could pay Apple to appear near the top of the results when a user searches for “burgers” or “fries.” Many similar apps already offer search ads, including Google Maps, Waze, and Yelp.

Kyle Hughes:

If a company has maxed out what they can earn through hardware and software quality then other screws need to be tightened.

[…]

I think this is important to consider as a third-party developer.

It used to be that hardware sales driven by the software platform were Apple’s best path to growth. Writing software for that platform added value to that platform: third-party developers were contributing to the flywheel.

Now, service revenue is the best path to growth. Writing software for the platform does not contribute to service revenue and can’t move the needle on selling more hardware. It is a maintenance-level concern.

Joe Rossignol:

Apple has officially announced that ads are coming to the Apple Maps app on the iPhone and iPad in the U.S. and Canada starting “this summer.”

Apple says businesses in the U.S. and Canada only will be able to place ads in search results and at the top of a new “Suggested Places” section in the app.

[…]

Similar to the ads that are already shown in App Store search results on the iPhone and iPad, ads in Apple Maps will have an “Ad” label, and Apple promises strong privacy protections. For example, Apple says a user’s location and the ads they see and interact with in Apple Maps are not associated with a user’s Apple Account.

Nick Heer:

The way they are “clearly marked” is with a light blue background and a small “Ad” badge, though it is worth noting Apple has been testing an even less obvious demarcation for App Store ads. In the case of the App Store, I have found the advertising blitz junks up search results more than it helps me find things I am interested in.

This is surely not something users are asking for. I would settle for a more reliable search engine, one that prioritizes results immediately near me instead of finding places in cities often hundreds of kilometres away.

Ant Dude:

Is it me or does iPhone’s iOS Maps app not show the details when using its offline map like in Bozeman, MT, USA? Like searching for its airport, restaurants, stores, etc. This is in an old iPhone 11 Pro Max’s iOS v17.6.1. I tested with airplane on to disable both cell and wifi to test out the newly downloaded offline 1 GB map area.

I’ve found that it works much worse than Google Maps when offline. It won’t find directions, and even maps that I’d preloaded don’t always display.

Joe Rosensteel:

I could continue, and certainly for other location types beyond restaurants, but I believe I’ve made my point: every new Apple Maps partner merely adds another incomplete layer of data. The underlying problems persist because Apple relies on these external sources rather than genuinely investing in its own internal ratings, reviews, or photo capabilities. As such, their data remains largely unhelpful.

The Michelin Guide, The Infatuation, or any “expert” source will never cover every restaurant in every city. As for user reviews, OpenTable users are limited by its business model, and both Yelp and TripAdvisor offer more features and consistency in their own apps than Apple provides in Maps.

Google Maps, however, offers a one-stop shop for ratings, reviews, menus, reservations, and even real-time busyness data, all directly comparable to surrounding places and usable worldwide.

Ingrid Burrington (via Nick Heer):

Google Maps probably isn’t profitable. At best, I would believe it’s been marginally profitable in recent years.

[…]

There’s an oft-cited 2019 research note from a Morgan Stanley analyst that estimated that Maps revenue would be around $2.95 billion in 2019, and could reach $4.63 billion and $11 billion in 2023 based on new advertising programs for Maps that the company planned to grow out. I haven’t found the original research note anywhere online, just coverage of it. These estimates have been passed around enough online that today SEO-hungry slop blogs confidently state that in 2023 Maps made $11 billion.

Joe Rossignol:

“Some older software versions will no longer support Apple Services like the App Store, Siri, and Maps,” said Apple, in a support document published last month. “Update your software to the latest available version to continue using these services.”

Ben Kuhn:

I just did another round of “what’s making my Zoom calls stutter every 60s” and this time the culprit was… APPLE #!*$ING MAPS. That’s right, Macs now come preloaded with software to ruin wifi latency :(

You can fix by revoking Maps’ location access in Preferences[…]

Previously:

Apple Business

Hartley Charlton:

Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features.

The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single interface to manage devices, employees, communications, and customer engagement across Apple's ecosystem.

[…]

The platform introduces Managed Apple Accounts with what Apple describes as "cryptographic separation" between personal and work data, allowing employees to use the same device for both purposes without commingling information.

The older services will be discontinued with their data migrated into Apple Business.

Six Colors:

It’ll take some time to digest these changes, but it seems like this is a simplification of Apple’s business offering, and making MDM free will be a win for smaller organizations. Unfortunately, Apple’s still only offering 5GB of free iCloud data on managed accounts, and it’s hard to think that any business should rely on Apple’s notoriously unreliable email platform.

Previously:

Discontinuing Sora

Juli Clover (Hacker News):

OpenAI today said that it is ending support for its Sora AI video app just six months after it initially launched.

Kyle Orland:

The announcement comes days after leaked news of an OpenAI all-hands meeting in which company executives reportedly said they were refocusing on business and productivity applications rather than being “distracted by side quests,” as OpenAI head of applications Fidji Simo reportedly put it.

Todd Spangler:

Disney has now ended its partnership with OpenAI, which included plans for the media conglomerate to take a $1 billion stake in the artificial-intelligence company led by CEO Sam Altman.

John Gruber:

Sora was kind of fun for a week or two. But, contrary to the above, nothing anyone made with Sora mattered. It was just a very (very) expensive lark.

It will be interesting if they release details, but my immediate assumption was that it was very expensive to run and not very strategic for them.

Manton Reece:

Guess what? That was written almost exactly six months ago.

Nick Heer:

It is because it is expensive without any clear reason for it to exist other than because OpenAI wants to be everywhere.

[…]

In a tweet, OpenAI has confirmed it is shutting down Sora. But, while it originally announced “We’re saying goodbye to Sora”, it changed that about an hour later to read “We’re saying goodbye to the Sora app“, emphasis mine. The Journal has not changed its report to retract claims about shutting down the platform altogether, though, while OpenAI continues to promote Sora API pricing.

M.G. Siegler:

As it turns out, much like the Studio Ghibli situation before it, it was a mere viral moment in time. OpenAI is great at creating these, but they’re fleeting.

[…]

But what’s really wild is shafting Disney in the process. I mean, they’re without question the most important entertainment and content company in the world. And OpenAI seemingly did them dirty. The fact that Disney is no longer looking to do the major investment which sure seemed like a good idea to them – checks notes – just three months ago, seems to say a lot.

Previously:

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