Apple Announces Apple Business, a New Platform for Device Management and Ads on Maps

Source: Apple.

Today, Apple announced Apple Business, a combination of mobile device management services, Apple Maps-based advertising, and other features that will be available beginning April 14.

On the device management side, Apple Business lets companies manage employee onboarding and devices, centralizing control over email, calendar, iCloud backups and sync, support, and other company information, while separating company and employee data. The platform also allows companies to distribute apps to employees.

Source: Apple.

As for ads on Maps, they will:

appear when users search in Maps, and can appear at the top of a user’s search results based on relevance, as well as 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. Ads will be clearly marked to ensure transparency for Maps users.

Apple also notes that the ads on Maps protects user privacy, preventing advertisers from seeing their location or tracking the ads they see.

It will be interesting to see how this works in practice. Apple’s track record with ads isn’t great. Based on the screenshots in Apple’s press release, it’s clear that ads will be shown when a user is searching a broad category like “Restaurants,” which I think is fine and could even be helpful. However, I hope ads aren’t shown when I enter a specific address or name of a business, where they’d feel more intrusive. There’s an appropriate balance to be struck here, and as a user, I hope Apple nails it.

Source: Apple.

Finally, Apple has consolidated other branding services it already offers as part of Apple Business, making it easier for businesses to present a uniform experience across Apple’s apps and services. Wallet, email communications, and Tap to Pay are all part of the new centralized management UI, along with place cards in Maps, Safari, and Spotlight.