Apple jumps on ads

Apple jumps on ads
The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

How often do you peruse the internet and, despite the million flashing banners on every edge of your screen, wish there were more ads? Just us?

Whether you like it or not, Apple is entering the ad game much harder than before. See, up until now, the two major companies that really make money from ads are Meta and Google. Apple trailed behind them since it was only really putting ads in places like the App Store or Apple News. The company makes about US$4 billion annually from its ad revenue.

But now, it’s looking to more than double that figure by selling ad space in places it hadn’t before. One example is Apple Maps, which has competed with Google Maps primarily by not showing ads. A Bloomberg report also said it’s looking to put ads into its podcast and book apps.

This isn’t the first step the company has made to be more competitive with giants like Facebook, though – last year, it made it so that apps didn’t have access to the same amount of user data that they used to by allowing users to opt-out of tracking. Basically, this means that ads in those apps aren’t as effective since they won’t be tailored from user to user. Now, in addition to trying to squeeze every last penny from Apple customers, the company is also looking to step up advertising competition.

Facebook is pushing back, though. It’s lost a lot of money since the change in the privacy policy, and it says that the changes for Apple mean that Google will get a lot of priority from ad buyers since it doesn’t have the same privacy controls on its platform. Basically, Facebook is claiming to be the underdog in the situation and has launched lawsuits against Apple to, in its own view, try and level the playing field.

Whatever Apple’s reasoning, though, prepare for ad-mageddon.