Bad news if you regularly use Apple Maps, because the navigation service will soon receive advertisements. This is what it looks like!
Ads in Apple Maps
More ads coming to your iPhone, iPad and Mac! According to the usually reliable Apple expert Mark Gurman, Apple Maps will soon be expanded with advertisements. Apple plans to add sponsored search results to the navigation service. That would be a big change, because you can now use Apple Maps ad-free. This will probably no longer be the case from 2026 onwards.
We don’t have to wait much longer for the ads, according to Gurman they will appear in Apple Maps in early 2026. You will not see the advertising by default in the navigation service, instead you will see sponsored content when you enter a specific search query. Apple has already added similar advertisements to the App Store, and Apple Maps will reportedly follow in a few months.
Sponsored Search Results
In the App Store, developers can already purchase advertisements that are shown for certain searches. For a fee, these sponsored search results will appear above the other options. You can recognize these paid results by a blue label with ‘Advertising’. This way you know that it is sponsored content, there is a good chance that the advertisements in Apple Maps will appear in the same way.
It will be possible for developers and companies to become easier to find for certain terms in Apple Maps for a fee. For example, restaurants can pay Apple to appear at the top of search results for specific dishes. In this way, Apple tries to generate more revenue without increasing subscription costs such as iCloud. It remains clear to users that it is advertising by the blue label under the sponsored search results. This is what it looks like in the App Store:
Apple Maps in iOS 26
So it is not the first time that Apple has added sponsored search results to an application. While paid content appears directly on the home screen in the App Store, this is probably not the case with Apple Maps. You only see the ads when you enter a search query. The first results that will be shown will be sponsored from the beginning of 2026. Apple will probably bring this change to Apple Maps with an interim update.
iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.5 are planned for early 2026, so there is a good chance that the advertisements will come to Apple Maps with one of these software versions. Apple has already brought many changes to the navigation service with iOS 26. The company has given Apple Maps a new design and more features. Read all about Apple Maps in iOS 26 here! Don’t want to miss any of Apple’s updates? Then sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter so you always stay informed!
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