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Apple is reportedly planning on inserting ads into the Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. An announcement could come as soon as this month, with the ads themselves appearing on iPhones this summer.
This will likely work similarly to ads in Google Maps and Yelp, which lets retailers and brands bid for coverage with particular search queries. I've personally never found the ads in Google Maps to be that annoying, so let's hope Apple's implementation is similar.
This potential ad revenue could seriously bolster Apple's services business, which currently generates $100 billion a year for the company. This division accounts for around 25 percent of annual revenue but faces challenges in both the short-term and long-term, as regulators around the world push for changes to App Store policies.
Apple has yet to comment on the matter. This idea has been floating around since last year, with rumors
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As Google promised, Apple AirDrop sharing is expanding to more Android devices. Samsung announced today that its Galaxy S26 Series is getting AirDrop support through the Quick Share feature.
Google first introduced the Quick Share feature on its Pixel 10 phones last year and, in February, shared plans to increase the number of devices included. The setting allows Android users to send and receive photos and files from an Apple device, much like two Apple users do with AirDrop. To get media from an iPhone, Android users need to turn visibility settings onto "everyone for 10 minutes."
Starting tomorrow, March 23, Samsung will begin rolling out this AirDrop support in Korea. It should then expan
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Google is testing a version of its Gemini app for macOS, Bloomberg reports. The app would bring the AI assistant to uncharted territory, and in more direct competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, both of which offer standalone Mac apps.
Gemini remains accessible through the web, and it sounds like the macOS app offers the same set of features, with the ability to respond to prompts, search the web and generate text, images and code. The major differentiator of the Mac app could be a feature called "Desktop Intelligence," which gives Gemini a new source of information and context for its responses. According to a message in the app's code viewed by Bloomberg, "when you enable apps for Desktop Intelligence you are enabling Gemini to see what you see (such as screen context) and pull content directly from these apps to improve and personalize your experience only when Gemini is in use."
The ability to refer to information in apps and what's currently on your screen is offered by both the Claude and ChatGPT macOS apps, and something Gemini is capable of on mobile devices. It's not clear if Gemini for macOS will be able to actually take action in the apps it can view — like, for example, Anthropic's popular
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Who doesn't love Google Maps? The Maps Android app helps those of us with oatmeal for brains find our way anywhere, without having to fire any neurons or exercise any synapses. It even helps us find places to pick up tasty cuisine — like, uh, oatmeal (yum!).
But there's much more to Google Maps than meets the eye — and odds are, you aren't taking advantage of at least a few handy hidden features lurking within the Maps Android app. With Android 15 right around the corner and more shiny new Googley goodies showing up by the day lately, I thought it'd be a fine time to dive deep into this ever-evolving Android anchor and think through some of its more off-the-beaten-path advanced options.
To read this article in full, please click here
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