Well, this is a bummer. Apple is planing to put ads in its Apple Map app as early as the summer, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (a subscription is required to read the article).
“Apple Inc. is preparing to introduce advertising in its Maps app, part of a broader push to generate more money from services,” he writes. “An announcement could come as early as this month, according to people with knowledge of the matter.”
Gurman says the system will work similar to Google Maps, by “allowing retailers and brands to bid for ad slots against search queries” as a way to increase services revenue.
The idea, apparently, is to allow businesses such as restaurants to pay to have their details featured more prominently in the app’s search feature. The Sellers Research Group (that’s me) thinks this is a bad idea. Apple is making boatloads of money within having to subject users to more ads.
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