Ammon News - Apple Maps has never been considered the crème de la crème of navigation apps (that honor obviously goes to Google Maps) and now, if reports are correct, its user experience is about to get ads, Bloomberg reports.

Apple is gearing up to introduce the change later this year, with an official announcement about it as soon as this month, sources tell Bloomberg. Ads could start showing up in the iOS Maps app at some point this summer.

Under the arrangement, companies would bid for the opportunity to promote their businesses inside the app in conjunction with relevant word searches. Maps users looking for restaurants, bars, or stores could be served, as top results, ads from businesses that have won the bidding process, Bloomberg says.

Such a shift could represent a solid revenue driver for Apple. Google has included ads in its navigation app for years, and Bing Maps also offers a similar advertising capacity to local business owners.

Reports about this possibility have been circulating for a while. In October, a similar report noted that the tech giant was considering such a plan. TechCrunch reached out to Apple for more information.

Years ago, users complained about Maps for its limited functionality. But Apple’s navigation app has made great strides in recent years, with new features like integrations with consumer outlets such as the MICHELIN Guide and Golf Digest. Last summer, during WWDC, Maps debuted a new feature to provide more traffic data and context about daily commutes. It is unclear how integrating term-search ads would impact features user do love, like Apple’s privacy protections and location history widget, but hopefully if the ad announcement arrives soon, we’ll learn more about such things then.

TechCrunch