Apple aims to triple its ad revenue, could bring ads to Maps and Books

Apple’s vice president of Advertising Platforms Todd Teresi said the tech giant wants to triple its current $4 billion annual ad revenue and bring it to double digits, Bloomberg tech reporter Mark Gurman wrote in the Sunday edition of its Power On newsletter. 

He also talked about Apple’s plans to expand App Store Search Ads to its other products. The tech giant has already started testing the ad model in the Maps app, and is likely to bring it to Apple Books and Apple Podcasts in the future too, Gurman said. 

Currently, the main revenue drivers for Apple’s ad business are the ads shown in the App Store, Apple News and Apple Stocks apps. The company also recently signed a 10-year partnership with Major League Baseball for Apple TV, where it has begun showing ads during livestreams. 

While Search Ads have been a part of the App Store since 2016, showcasing relevant apps on the Search tab and at the top of the search result pages, Apple is also getting ready two start showing ads within the Today tab and product pages. 

The tech giant first stepped into the advertising business in 2010 when Steve Jobs introduced iAd, a mobile ad platform aimed to allow developers to place ads within their apps, just like what Google’s AdMob is doing right now. After being active for 6 years, iAd was discontinued on June 30, 2016. 

Apple is also under fire for expanding its ad offerings while its iOS 14 privacy changes have led to a sharp drop in the ad revenue of many businesses. The iPhone-maker’s controversial App Tracking Transparency policy came into effect in April 2021, requiring developers to have user consent to show them personalized ads. 

Following the launch of ATT, Apple’s Search Ads surpassed Facebook in power and volume rankings in iOS, according to AppsFlyer’s data.

And earlier this year, Meta’s (formerly Facebook) chief financial officer Dave Wehner said that the impact of ATT on its ad revenue will be around $10 billion in 2022.