While introducing its new Apple Business platform this week, Apple announced that sponsored search results will appear on Apple Maps this summer, on April 14. That's annoying news, but there's one silver lining to the cloud of capitalism: Apple will not be adding sponsored results to searches when using CarPlay, only for Maps users on iOS and iPadOS. At least, that's the good news for now; who knows when Apple will start making in-car navigation another place from which to draw ad revenue?
Apple announced that U.S. and Canadian companies will be able to pay to appear at the top of searches and at the top of a new feature called Suggested Places, which will recommend places to go depending on trending and recent searches. It's something Google Maps and Waze have been doing for years, but it's frustrating that yet another platform will show you locations that are paid for rather than locations that make the most sense.
Ads Are Everywhere, Including Cars
While Apple Maps in CarPlay may not yet show sponsored (paid-for) results, automakers are turning the automobile into yet another place to sell your attention. Ford has patented a way to put ads into the car cabin, and Stellantis has been showing pop-up ads on the screens of Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler vehicles. Reports from Motor1 and The Autopian last year also showed how Tesla and Subaru used in-car screens to sell to a captive audience, too, and Uber launched in-car ads in New York City after a longstanding ban was overturned. In a way, we don't blame these automakers and service providers.
Automakers are facing increasing competition in every segment, and earning a few extra cents and dollars from ad revenue can be the difference between red and black on the quarterly balance sheet. No longer can an automaker sell a car and wait until that car needs replacing to earn more income—they need to find new ways of making sure there's money flowing in constantly, like charging a subscription for heated seats, or shareholders will seek new board members.
Subscription Services Are an Annoying Norm
Copyright 2015 Brandon Turkus / AOL
While some states are now pushing back on subscription services, a study last year showed that more than half of Americans surveyed were open to a subscription model for their next car, and it would not be surprising if Apple someday offered a "premium" subscription service to remove ads from Maps. Big corporations are always looking for ways to eke every cent out of their customers, and as long as the law allows them to, they'll keep finding more inventive ways of selling your anonymized data. Back in 2010, we reported how California was even considering allowing ads on license plates. Hopefully, we never fall that far into dystopia.
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