Apple Maps now shows the Gulf of America
Apple Maps now shows the Gulf of America
Canadian phone on a Canadian carrier, freshly updated to iOS 18.3.1. Looks like the correct and proper name is still being used by Apple Maps.
Anybody else reminded of Freedom Fries?
Been a stupid thing America has done at least since WWI.
From a 1976 interview with German-American T. Max Kniesche, who moved to San Francisco in 1907, and worked in restaurants and cafes there:
Teiser: What was it like in San Francisco for Germans during the first world war? You were working at a clearly German restaurant. [...]
Teiser: Did you change the kind of food that you served, or the decorations?
Kniesche: Well, the hamburger steak was Liberty Steak. French-fried potatoes were Liberty Potatoes. [laughter] We called it Liberty, but the liberty wasn't there. Anyhow, everything went to "Liberty." [laughter]
Sources:
This was actually done 2 weeks ago but was only recently discovered because no one uses apple maps
The 3D vector mapping in NYC is legit.
From a fully-updated Japanese iPhone as of right now:
If you're in Japan, it'll show the regular name. The change is only in America.
Can we change it to “In-sea-curity”?
Or just “The Sea of Insecurity”?
Or maybe “Man Baby Bay”
Or “Weak Little Pussy removed President Tiny Hands Dumb Dumb Deep Water Douche Lagoon”
Or, like, “The Gulf of Mexico”…
Switched from Google Maps to Apple Maps a couple months ago, and I'd like to Switch to an alternative that doesn't implement fascist place names, but navigation with toll road avoidance unfortunately doesn't seem to be a common feature 😕
Any alternative will just be bought up anyway since America decided monopolies are no longer a bad thing.
The body of water formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico.
I don't see that Apple has a choice here if they want to keep doing business in the U.S.
Trump and Musk have made it pretty clear that you either give in to their petty demands or there will be trouble.
And any company that defies the administration is going to learn really quickly why they shouldn't.
Part of their whole plan has been to upend the whole corporatist idea that both parties have embraced and turn it into "we are pro-corporate, but only for the right corporate. You scratch our back, we'll scratch yours."
Big problem with that, is we're heading down the V for Vendetta "everyone uses the government controlled phone" path. Apple's capitulation just adds more weight against their, "hey we're completely closed-source, but you can totally trust us as the most secure private phone platform because we said so," narrative.
Not that there's a real correct-answer way out of this right now. People will just have to leave platforms and do their own thing.
I would suggest that either Apple capitulates and is made part of the system or Apple refuses and is removed from the system. Because if the goal is everyone to use a government controlled phone, it doesn't really matter if Apple is involved or not.
And expecting any massive corporation to do the thing that will make them less money is to just expect things that never happen.