If you hate Google Maps ads, Apple Maps might not be better for much longer

Google Maps and Apple Maps may be two different apps, but they also have a lot in common. They can both give you turn-by-turn directions, information on closures and delays, and street views. And soon they could have one more thing in common, ads.

In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is considering bringing advertisements to Apple Maps. The company has reportedly been mulling over the possibility of bringing more ads to iOS for the last few years, but now it’s ready to act on those plans. Gurman says Apple could move ahead with this plan, starting with the Maps app, as early as 2026.

On the user end, these ads are said to be similar to the Search Ads inside the App Store. These Search Ads allow developers to pay to have their apps appear in a promoted slot, depending on what the user searches. However, the ads in Apple Maps will promote restaurants and other businesses, rather than software.

Although Google Maps does something similar, Gurman says he was told that these ads will have a better interface than what Google and other companies offer inside mapping services. Gurman also states that Apple plans to use AI to “ensure that results are relevant and useful.”

It remains to be seen if Apple can find a way to make its ads look better than the ads on Google Maps. But at the end of the day, an ad is still an ad.