CUPERTINO, California, April 14, 2026, 11:13 PDT
Apple on Tuesday released the second public beta of iOS 26.5, a day after sending developers a new test build that adds an Apple Maps prompt laying out how local ads will work. The back-to-back releases put one of Apple’s next business moves in front of a wider pool of iPhone users.
The notice says Maps may show local ads based on “approximate location, current search terms, or view of the map” while a user searches. It also says advertising information is not linked to the Apple Account, in line with Apple’s broader plan to start Maps ads in the United States and Canada this summer. 9to5Mac
That matters now because Apple is moving on two tracks at once. Apple Business, the merchant platform it unveiled last month, becomes available on Tuesday in more than 200 countries and regions, while Maps ad inventory is due to open this summer for businesses in the U.S. and Canada.
When Apple announced Apple Business, Susan Prescott, the company’s vice president of Enterprise and Education Marketing, said it would give firms “additional ways to reach new customers.” Gil Luria, an analyst at D.A. Davidson, later told Reuters Maps ads could be “an incremental opportunity” for Apple’s services business. Apple
Services is already one of Apple’s main growth drivers. Apple said in January that Services achieved an “all-time revenue record,” and Reuters reported the Maps push would put Apple more directly against Alphabet’s Google and Meta for local advertising budgets. Apple
Apple is trying to square the new ad push with its privacy pitch. On its Maps ads site, the company says targeting will use contextual signals such as search terms, approximate location and the part of the map on screen, not precise location, age or gender, and that personal data stays on the device. Apple’s broader Maps privacy page says the service uses random identifiers and “fuzzing” to make a search location less exact within 24 hours. Apple Ads
The iOS 26.5 build is not only about ads. 9to5Mac and MacRumors said the public beta continues tests of end-to-end encryption for RCS, or Rich Communication Services, meaning only the sender and recipient can read the messages, and includes Live Activities support for third-party wearables in the European Union.
Maps still looks like the headline change. Suggested Places, first seen in beta 1, shows recommendations when users tap the search field, and sponsored placements are expected both there and at the top of search results, according to 9to5Mac and MacRumors.
But the timing is not locked. 9to5Mac said the new screen does not confirm ads will ship with the final iOS 26.5 release, and the same report said the beta prompt did not show a visible opt-out for Maps ads. Reuters has said the move could sharpen scrutiny of how Apple balances a growing ad business with its privacy message.
For now, Apple has only said Maps ads will start this summer. But with developer beta 2 out on April 13, public beta 2 following on April 14 and Apple’s merchant tools going live the same day, the company looks much closer to turning Maps into another ad surface before that window opens.
