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Google Maps tests new pop-up ads that give you an unnecessary detour (www.androidauthority.com)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

264 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Jesus, that is a gross way to inject advertising into turn-by-turn navigation.

Edit/update from 9to5google so this post does not spread what is apparently inaccurate information: https://9to5google.com/2024/07/08/google-maps-pop-up-quick-detour-ad/

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Thanks I hate it. Also not even new, this shit was what killed in dash sat navs....

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Nitpicking, but I'm not sure that it was ads that killed dash sat navs. At least in my experience, they never really developed to that point where car companies would put ads in.

It was more that they were expensive options to install, a pain to keep updated, and generally weren't all that good.

Even before the live traffic and automatic detour features, phones didn't cost money to keep the onboard maps up to date, and you already had one, so you didn't need to either buy an add-on, or get a special unit for it.

With android CarPlay and Apple Auto, you could just put your phone map on the screen, which was basically the same thing, but a cheaper equivalent, since the hardware was on your phone instead.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'm absolutely certain that it wasn't ads that put a firm like TomTom on a downward slope. This was actually the first time that I've heard someone proclaim that ads are the reason.

If your business is to sell maps + navigation devices for money and then the times change and now nearly everyone already owns a smartphone with built in gps + some car manufacturers provide sat nav as a default + another company is giving access to a map away for free, well then your business is in trouble.

I've never even heard of ads in TomTom or Garmin, since I stopped using a dedicated sat nav once I had a smartphone, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was one of the things they tried to stay afloat after smartphones became ubiquitous.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

They were just way waaay to expensive to update. I remember having to jail brake it and sideload updates.

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