Bad news for the App Store, because Apple will soon show even more advertising. This is going to change!
Annoying: App Store will soon have even more advertising
As if you didn’t see enough sponsored apps already, Apple plans to fill the App Store even further with advertisements from 2026. So anyone who hates advertising and regularly puts an app on their iPhone can now prepare mentally. Especially when searching for apps, it becomes more crowded with advertisements.
At the moment the App Store is quite clear. You enter a keyword, and at the top there is an advertisement with a subtly colored frame. By scrolling you will quickly reach the real search results. But soon, scrolling through will become less obvious, because Apple wants to keep the advertisements not only at the top, but also further down among the search results.
In concrete terms, this means that after the first real search results you may encounter a sponsored app again. With a bit of bad luck, from now on you will first scroll past a few advertising tiles before you find the app you want.
This is because more places will soon become available where advertising is allowed in the App Store. Apple says existing ad campaigns will automatically be eligible for those new positions, with no adjustments required from advertisers. Advertisers cannot purchase a specific spot, because Apple determines the final placement.
More ads on your iPhone
But that’s not all, because in 2026, in addition to the App Store, more advertising will come to your iPhone in another place. According to rumors, Apple also wants to provide the Apple Maps app with additional advertisements. These then become sponsored search results that pop up as soon as you look up something. Apple Maps is currently completely ad-free.
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