Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/reddit user TLP34
If you've been using navigation apps on your iPhone for more than a few months, you probably know already that Apple is catching up with Google and Google Maps. The upcoming iOS 18 release, due in the fall of this year, will bring Apple Maps closer to its rival, not only from a new feature perspective but also when it comes to smaller and more subtle refinements you don't necessarily see at first glance.
One such change has recently been spotted online after the release of the first iOS 18 public beta.
Users who installed this pre-release version of the operating system discovered that Apple Maps now displays nearby businesses, including coffee shops, restaurants, and stores, with bigger fonts and icons on the map.
A screenshot posted on reddit speaks for itself. These places, which many described as "suggested" or "sponsored" locations, are gigantic and obviously highlighted compared to everything else on the map. They use large fonts and big icons, typically with colored fonts, compared to street names, which stick with the standard gray and black font.
It's not difficult to understand why Apple Maps users are disappointed. Many believe Apple is filling up the application with ads, as it's an efficient way to monetize the navigation application. This scenario makes sense, considering navigation apps typically highlight sponsored locations on the map.
However, while some users believe Apple Maps is heading in the wrong direction with this update, Apple might actually try to make its application easier to use with these highlighted places. Users who spotted the larger "suggested" places claim they've never been to any of these locations, and they only appeared on the map while navigating.
This is what Apple might be trying to do here. The company highlights nearby places not necessarily to recommend them on the map but to make navigation more straightforward. Apple uses these places as landmarks, so when you see a gigantic Starbucks icon on Apple Maps and you're supposed to make a right turn right after it, you can figure out the suggested route more conveniently.
Online comments from business owners whose locations are displayed on the map claim they're not paying extra to have their stores highlighted in such a prominent way. As a result, it might just be an attempt to make navigation easier for everybody by highlighting landmarks to help follow a suggested route.
The change could become available for everybody running Apple Maps with the debut of iOS 18 in the fall unless Apple has a change of mind and drops the idea before the update reaches the production stage. iOS 18 is still in the testing stage, so Apple experimenting with such ideas makes sense, given the availability is still limited.
Users who installed this pre-release version of the operating system discovered that Apple Maps now displays nearby businesses, including coffee shops, restaurants, and stores, with bigger fonts and icons on the map.
A screenshot posted on reddit speaks for itself. These places, which many described as "suggested" or "sponsored" locations, are gigantic and obviously highlighted compared to everything else on the map. They use large fonts and big icons, typically with colored fonts, compared to street names, which stick with the standard gray and black font.
It's not difficult to understand why Apple Maps users are disappointed. Many believe Apple is filling up the application with ads, as it's an efficient way to monetize the navigation application. This scenario makes sense, considering navigation apps typically highlight sponsored locations on the map.
However, while some users believe Apple Maps is heading in the wrong direction with this update, Apple might actually try to make its application easier to use with these highlighted places. Users who spotted the larger "suggested" places claim they've never been to any of these locations, and they only appeared on the map while navigating.
This is what Apple might be trying to do here. The company highlights nearby places not necessarily to recommend them on the map but to make navigation more straightforward. Apple uses these places as landmarks, so when you see a gigantic Starbucks icon on Apple Maps and you're supposed to make a right turn right after it, you can figure out the suggested route more conveniently.
Online comments from business owners whose locations are displayed on the map claim they're not paying extra to have their stores highlighted in such a prominent way. As a result, it might just be an attempt to make navigation easier for everybody by highlighting landmarks to help follow a suggested route.
The change could become available for everybody running Apple Maps with the debut of iOS 18 in the fall unless Apple has a change of mind and drops the idea before the update reaches the production stage. iOS 18 is still in the testing stage, so Apple experimenting with such ideas makes sense, given the availability is still limited.
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