‘I wish Apple would just stop that crap': Apple has added persistent ‘ads’ to i OS, and it’s driving users crazy | Tech Radar
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‘I wish Apple would just stop that crap': Apple has added persistent ‘ads’ to i OS, and it’s driving users crazy
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i OS users are seeing ‘ads’ for other Apple products on their i Phones
The banners promote services like i Cloud+, Apple Music and Apple Care+
The messages often can’t be dismissed and stick around for weeks
If you were to ask i OS users how they felt about Apple’s decision to insert ads into Apple Maps, it would quickly become obvious that it was not a popular move. So when i Phone fans discovered that Apple has been inserting prompts for its own products into i OS, the reaction was predictably swift and furious.
Infuriatingly for i OS users, the only way to disable these promos is to either let them expire — which in many cases could take weeks or even months, leaving a persistent notification badge on the Settings app in the meantime — or pay for the service being offered. There is not always a “dismiss” button to shoo them away for good, and when there is, some people have reported that it doesn’t seem to work.
Many people have taken to social media to vent their frustrations with Apple’s actions. “I’m feeling like this is nearly on-par with the ens***ification that Microsoft introduced with Start menu ads,” said one aggravated user. “I wish Apple would just stop that crap,” stated another. Many other people have taken to Reddit to express their exasperation, suggesting that the discontent is widespread.
Some of these ads and offers — such as the one for Apple Music — appear after you’ve bought a new Apple product. With the company launching the i Phone Duo and i Phone 18 Pro range recently, it’s perhaps unsurprising that we’re seeing a sudden influx of posts flush with irritation and indignation.
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On the face of it, Apple’s decision to include promotions like this in its operating system might seem like a strange one. After all, Apple has long positioned itself as a premium company where the user experience is paramount. From that viewpoint, repeatedly attempting to prod customers towards even more of the company’s products might seem cheap, even distasteful. And when you’ve just shelled out a record fee for an i Phone after Apple’s painful price rises, that can just feel like nickel and diming.
But Apple has been putting increasing emphasis on its services in recent years, of which products like i Cloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple Care+ are all a part. With limited room for growth in the smartphone market, the company is turning to areas where it thinks it can make more progress.
And unfortunately for users, that means more ads like this on their devices. While they are far from the most obnoxious ads around, the fact that many cannot be dismissed is clearly rubbing users the wrong way — as is the fact that the promos even exist at all in an Apple product.
There is also the possibility that at least some of these adverts are appearing due to a bug. The i Cloud+ one in particular has drawn comments from users who are already subscribed to i Cloud+ and thus, one would think, should not need to see any ads like this. Time will tell how that plays out and whether Apple fixes this ‘bug’ or leaves the ads in place. If the latter transpires, it would suggest that they are not appearing erroneously.
With Apple’s services push showing no signs of slowing down and further ads supposedly planned for the likes of the firm’s Visual Intelligence system, don’t expect Apple to have a change of heart any time soon.
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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as Tech Radar, Alex writes for i More, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at Mac Format magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.
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