Apple would like to put ads in iOS like Xiaomi: What the hell!
Apple would like to optimize its advertising revenues by integrating more ads in some of its native applications such as Maps or the App Store. A strategy that goes against the manufacturer's premium philosophy, which is already decried by some other manufacturers like Xiaomi.
TL;DR
- This rumor comes from the latest newsletter of Mark Gurman, journalist for Bloomberg.
- According to Gurman, Apple would like to triple its advertising revenues, which currently amount to $4 billion per year.
- Apple's idea would be to integrate more ads into its native apps for iOS and iPadOS.
In his latest newsletter, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, known for his numerous leaks about Apple, explains that the American giant would like to maximize its advertising revenues by integrating more ads in its iPhone and iPad applications.
Gurman also reminds us that Apple already broadcasts ads in some of these apps, including the News and Stock Market applications. These are called "display ads", like the one you can see on any site like NextPit.
Apple also offers other ads, in the search tab and the suggestions tab of its App Store. According to the journalist, it's this second type of ad that Apple would like to develop more, at least for now.
Ads in Maps, Books, Podcasts and Apple TV+?
So we shouldn't see ads for McDonald's burgers or Nike sneakers in native iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 applications. But Apple could sell privileged spaces or "slots" to certain developers or companies to showcase their businesses and products.
The Bloomberg reporter explains for example that Apple would have tested internally to place privileged results in Apple Maps searches. We could therefore imagine that a restaurant or a shop owner could pay Apple so that its sign appears in priority when a user searches for a good address.
One of the new features of iOS 16 is the option called Look Around in Maps, which allows you to view points of interest of a certain address in 3D and 360°. Perhaps Apple could charge merchants to have their establishments appear more prominently in this scenario. But this is pure speculation on my part, obviously.
Gurman also mentions other examples that Apple could explore, such as allocating additional advertising slots in the App Store. So, a developer could pay to have his or her app appear elsewhere than in the search tab, such as the Headlines tab or third-party app download pages.
He continued that Apple could even adopt a model similar to Netflix and Disney+ for its SVOD service Apple TV+, with the creation of a cheaper subscription with ads in the interface.
In any case, this strategy has not yet been made official by Apple. Of course, it is undeniable that advertising is a high-potential profit vector that Apple would be crazy not to exploit. But we can also wonder about the coherence of such a turnaround when we know that the premium user experience, a.k.a. without ads, is one of the key arguments of the iOS and Apple ecosystem.
Who would want to pay the price of an iPhone to have a user experience similar to that of MIUI in terms of ads?
This question is even more thorny, as Apple is currently under the radar of the justice system regarding the compliance of its ATT device with laws on anticompetitive practices. When we talk about advertising, we are talking about the collection of personal data. If Apple allows users to prevent third-party applications from using your ID to serve you targeted ads, how can it regulate ads sold by Apple itself in its own applications?
Source: Mark Gurman (Bloomberg)
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