(Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

direction-to-consumer

Apple says it’s bringing ads to its Maps app this summer

That could be another boon for its fast-growing, high-margin Services division.

Apple Maps users just trying to find their way in the world might find their paths a little more cluttered by paid suggestions this summer, as Apple has announced new plans to introduce ads into its Maps app.

Through a new free platform called Apple Business, available in more than 200 countries and regions starting April 14, Apple will allow retailers to buy priority placements for search queries and its new “Suggested Places” list in the app — and US and Canadian users can expect to see the sponsored spots to crop up by summertime. Rival Google Maps, which Apple has been contending with for years, introduced a similar suggestion-based bidding system back in 2013.

The move is just another part in Apple’s push to squeeze advertising sales from its apps and services, having added advertising slots within the App Store, Apple TV, and Apple News in recent years. Those efforts have been paying off, helping to boost margins in the company’s Services division to an eye-popping 75% — more than double the margin it ekes out from the Products segment, home to its iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices.

Yes, while Products brought in almost $200 billion more in sales than Apple’s Services last year, there was only a little over $30 billion worth of difference between the divisions’ gross margin figures.

Apple service segment chart — Sherwood News

The App Store remains at the core of Apple’s Services business, with some ~$20 billion in annual revenue, thanks to the cash it takes from in-app purchases and the controversial “Apple tax” — the 15% to 30% commission the platform pockets from paid downloads. At the same time, the iCloud+ storage subscription — which a whopping 70% of recent US Apple device buyers paid for in Q4 2025, per CIRP estimations — chips in, alongside subscription and advertising revenues from News, Music, TV, etc.

Think different?

Apple, broadly conspicuous by its absence from the rest of Big Tech’s unending AI spending party, has cashed in on the craze in other ways, with reports that the company is expected to make $1 billion in App Store fees just from other companies’ generative-AI apps.

Maybe with the buffer of having just posted its best quarter for iPhone sales on record, and an increasing cash pile mounting behind its ultra-profitable Services division, Apple might not completely mind being left out of some parts of the AI journey — especially if it can just ask Maps for some paid recommendations along the way.

Target Opens "Target SoHo" - A Design-Forward Shoppable Concept Store In SoHo, New York

As Target alters its dress code, it also wants staff to buy more of its clothes

The retailer’s apparel and accessories sales hit their lowest point since the pandemic last year.

Tom Jones4h

Max Knoblauch4h

Sony and Honda are scrapping Afeela, their joint EV that you could play PlayStation in

Less than two weeks after Honda said it would take an up to $15.7 billion write-down as it restructures its EV business, the automaker is scrapping an electric vehicle made in a joint venture with Sony.

The Afeela 1, a $90,000 EV with PlayStation 5 integration, was set to begin deliveries later this year.

A nearly six-figure EV that you could play “The Last of Us” in doesn’t exactly sound like a bestseller in the current electric vehicle landscape, but the announcement is still surprising given how far along the joint venture was. The JV had a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand opening of its delivery hub in California on March 21. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the JV teased a crossover SUV prototype as a second model.

In Honda’s EV write-down announcement earlier this month, the automaker canceled three models planned for production in the US.

Sony-Honda JV Abruptly Scraps Afeela EVs After Honda's $15.7 Billion Writedown | EV

In Honda’s EV write-down announcement earlier this month, the automaker canceled three models planned for production in the US.

Max Knoblauch20h

Disney ends its OpenAI deal after Sora video app is shuttered

Disney is exiting its first-of-its-kind deal with OpenAI now that the AI giant is winding down its AI video app, Sora, according to reporting by The Hollywood Reporter.

The news comes just three months after the deal — which included a reported $1 billion Disney investment in OpenAI and a license for the AI giant to use some Disney characters — was first announced.

“We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators,” a Disney spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.

We’re saying goodbye to Sora. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing.

We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on…
— Sora (@soraofficialapp) March 24, 2026

Disney Exits OpenAI Deal After AI Giant Shutters Sora

We’re saying goodbye to Sora. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing.

We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on…
— Sora (@soraofficialapp) March 24, 2026

Max Knoblauch3/24/26

United CEO says airfares would have to go up another 20% to “break even” if fuel prices remain elevated

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby expects oil prices to stay higher for longer and warned that airfares, which have already gone up by double digits in the past few weeks, will need to climb another 20% in order for the airline to “break even” on fuel.

“Airfares are up 15% to 20% in the last few weeks, but that’s sort of covering half to 60% of the inflationary increase, so I think we have some room to go,” Kirby said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday. “If oil prices stayed where they are today, that’s $11 billion of expense for us. And that would require prices to be up 20% to break even.”

Kirby said that he is sure there will be some consumer pushback to increased fares, but added, like several other airline execs recently, that Q1 demand is still strong.

“Demand is the strongest it’s been, ever. The top 10 booking weeks of the year have all been in 2026 so far,” he said.

Jet fuel costs have remained elevated amid the US war with Iran, with prices cracking the $4 mark last week, according to the Argus US Jet Fuel Index. Since US airlines have virtually all given up the practice of fuel hedging, they’re more exposed to volatility.

Last week, United issued a worst-case oil pricing forecast of $175 per barrel, with prices trading above $100 through 2027.

“It’s reasonable for us to plan for that regardless, because the downside is pretty limited,” said Kirby. “Like, [if] we leave a little bit of demand on the table by not flying quite as much this summer, so what.”

Max Knoblauch3/24/26

“Fortnite” maker Epic is laying off 1,000 employees amid engagement downturn

“Fortnite” creator Epic Games on Tuesday announced that it’s cutting 1,000 jobs across the company as engagement slows down. Per the company’s note to employees:

“The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we’re spending significantly more than we’re making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded. This layoff, together with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles puts us in a more stable place.”

This is Epic’s second major round of layoffs in three years: it cut more than 800 jobs in 2023 amid widespread industry cost cutting.

In January, Epic hired a new general counsel with extensive experience in helping guide companies through IPOs, igniting rumors that it may be planning its own sometime soon. A move to slash costs sharply like this one could certainly add fuel to that fire.

Struggling with engagement puts “Fortnite,” one of gaming’s biggest “black holes” along with rivals Roblox and Microsoft’s “Minecraft,” in a tough situation — the free-to-play game can’t fall back on box price or a pause in development.

Earlier this month, Epic hiked the price of the in-game currency in “Fortnite,” v-bucks, explaining that “the cost of running Fortnite has gone up a lot.” In recent years, the game has worked to mirror Roblox, expanding its creator offerings and relying more on user-built experiences. Epic has also worked to find more cash in partnerships, deepening its ties with Disney.