|
Apple Maps will soon have ads, Apple confirmed in a blog post announcing the company's new Apple Business platform. Reports that Apple planned to expand its ad business outside of the App Store and Apple News broke as recently as yesterday, but the company has been rumored to be exploring putting ads in its navigation app as far back as 2022.
Ads in Maps, as the new advertising program is called, will allow businesses to create ads that can appear "when users search in Maps," at the top of search results and "at the top of a new Suggested Places experience in Maps, which will display recommendations based on what's trending nearby, the user's recent searches, and more," Apple says. The program will be open to Apple Business customers in the US and Canada starting this summer. Any advertisers using the existing Apple Ads experience will also be able to book space in Apple Maps.
Like the other ads Apple offers to businesses in the App Store and Apple News, ads in maps will be clearly marked and are designed to maintain
|
|
If these images are real, this is the first look at the Oura Ring 5.
|
|
 Anker's new Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station has been marked down to $119.99 today on Amazon, down from $149.99, with no need for a coupon. This accessory just launched last month, and Amazon's price is within $4 of the all-time low we tracked a few weeks back.
|
|
Epic Games has announced sweeping layoffs of more than 1,000 employees. "The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we're spending significantly more than we're making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded," CEO Tim Sweeney said in a memo to workers on Tuesday.
Sweeney wrote that, combined with "over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles," the layoffs will give Epic more stability. He added that the layoffs are not related to AI.
Back in 2023, Epic laid off 830 employees. At the time, that was 16 percent of its workforce, suggesting around 4,000 employees remained at the company. If those numbers haven't changed too much in the meantime, that means Epic is culling around a quarter of its headcount this week.
Along with a dip in Fortnite engagement, Sweeney pointed out that Epic isn't immune from systemic issues the games industry is contending with, such as a slowdown in growth, reduced spending, "tougher cost economics" and a battle with other types of media for consumer's attention.
However, Epic has some issues of its own to deal with. "Despite Fortnite remaining one of the most successful games in the world, we've had challenges delivering consistent Fortnite magic with every season; we're only in the early stages of returning to mobile and optimizing Fortnite for the world's bil
|
|
You can save almost $500 on the power station and the solar panel now, two days before Amazon's Big Spring Sale.
|
|
 Google is developing a native Gemini app for the Mac, reports Bloomberg. Right now, Mac users who want to use Google's Gemini AI have to use a web browser, but that will change with a dedicated Mac app.
|
|
We are now in the third decade of Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday releases, which deliver fewer critical updates to browsers and Windows platforms — and much more reliable updates to Microsoft Office — than in the early days of patching. But this month, the company rolled out 63 updates (including fixes for three zero-days in Windows and Office).
Updates to Microsoft Exchange and Visual Studio can be included in standard patch release cycles, while Adobe needs to be included in your "Patch Now" releases for third-party applications.
The team at Readiness has provided a detailed infographic that outlines the risks associated with each of the updates for November.
To read this article in full, please click here
|
|
