Apple Maps in iOS 18: New feature highlights businesses, but users complain
Apple has added a new feature to iOS 18 that wasn’t mentioned at WWDC, likely due to its unpopularity among users. In Apple Maps, some businesses, such as restaurants, stores, or services like hair salons, now appear more prominently than others.
Apple is highlighting these places with larger fonts, bigger icons, and often colorful signage. Some of these places are even marked as featured. These highlighted places stand out from the rest, including street names, which are shown in smaller grey and black fonts.
Apple seems to have found a new way to monetize Apple Maps through advertising. If you feel that your business is not visible enough in Apple Maps, you can sponsor it to make it stand out. Google Maps offers a similar service, but the highlighted businesses are not as prominent. So far, users testing Apple Maps on iOS 18 have mostly complained about the way sponsored places are displayed. They say it’s difficult to find what they’re looking for, and instead they only see ads.
Interestingly, the owners of the highlighted businesses on Reddit claim that they do not pay any fee to Apple for the highlighting and have not been contacted about the highlighting. This raises questions about Apple’s motivations. Some users, on the other hand, are happy because the feature allows them to find the place they are looking for more quickly.
The question remains whether Apple will in the future start charging for highlighting, return the display to its original form, or continue to display places it deems interesting to users to help them navigate the maps. Currently, this is a controversial feature that has its supporters and detractors. How the situation develops will depend on user reactions and Apple’s business strategies in the future.
Photo source: www.pexels.com
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