Reports this week suggest that Apple could be planning to expand ads on a range of first-party apps.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the tech giant has already begun testing embedded ads in its Maps app as part of a push to broaden the scope of in-app advertising.

The internal trials could see users presented with recommended locations when searching for restaurants or stores, the report claims.

“For instance, a Japanese restaurant could pay money to rank at the top of local listings when users searched for “sushi.” If you’ve used Yelp, you already get the idea,” Gurman writes.

Long-term, it is suggested the new strategy forms part of a plan to roll-out ads to a range of first-party apps.

Digital ad domination

The move from Apple isn’t its first foray in the advertising space. App Store users are frequently met with ads via the Search function – with developers paying to promote apps. Ads are also displayed in the News and Stocks apps.

Gurman notes that the embedded ads in the Maps, Books and Podcasts apps could function in the same manner, allowing advertisers to bid on specific keywords and ensure higher-ranked content in search results.

According to reports last month, Apple has considered expanding the number of advertising slots available in the App Store. MacRumors, Apple Insider and 9to5mac all hinted that proposed updates would expand ads to the App Store’s ‘Today’ tab.

What does this mean for users?

While iPhone, iPad and Mac users may be used to Apple’s traditionally limited ad presence, the current manoeuvring does signal a step-change in how the tech giant plans to approach digital advertising.

Research from Omdia shows that Apple’s ad business grew by a whopping 238 percent across 2021. The firm also generates nearly $4bn in annual revenue from advertising alone – but there’s still room for improvement according to Apple’s ad group VP, Todd Teresi.

As Gurman points out, Teresi has “talked up expanding the business significantly”, adding that he wants to increase ad revenue into the double-digit range.

By expanding its own internal advertising capabilities, the tech giant looks set to muscle in on a lucrative global marketplace. And the introduction of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature in 2021 appears to have laid some of the groundwork for this push.

ATT gives users greater control over how apps track their activity; allowing them to outright deny tracking permission to some apps. Although Apple promoted the policy as a benevolent attempt to protect user privacy, the move was met with heavy criticism from a range of third-party platforms, including Meta, which claims to have lost billions in ad revenue as a result of the changes.

Recommended

• NFT art offers new avenues for creativity – And cash
• UK challenger banks hold lead in customer satisfaction
• Watch out for cost-of-living scams, Scots warned

It has been suggested that the introduction of ATT could enable apple to unlock greater value from the data collected via first-party apps. However, technology futurist and Metanomic CEO Theo Priestley warned that the move serves to create a “walled garden” in which Apple can “trap” users.

He said: “Apple has progressively and aggressively positioned itself as a data privacy advocate whilst cutting off third-party access to personal data for ads.

“However, they are not as clean cut as they appear. Apple is looking to own the data for itself and in turn trap you within its own ecosystem.”

With a recent report also suggesting that Apple plans on building its own demand-side platform, Priestley warned that users risk becoming increasingly locked in to Apple’s self-contained ad ecosystem.

He added: “There have been numerous new job ads recently that point to Apple creating a new Demand Side Platform and the ideal candidate would need to have experience building a mobile-centric DSP and know-how when it comes to optimizing ‘mobile campaigns using measurement and attribution’ – there is nothing friendly about Apple and you are increasingly becoming dependent on their digital drug.”

Get the latest news from DIGIT direct to your inbox

Our newsletter covers the latest technology and IT news from Scotland and beyond, as well as in-depth features and exclusive interviews with leading figures and rising stars.

To subscribe, click here.