Apple Maps follows Google, relabels Gulf of Mexico as America

Apple Maps has quietly been updated to change the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" when viewed by U.S. users. This comes a mere day after Google made the same change to its own Maps app.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico within hours of his inauguration last month, proclaiming that it would henceforth be known as the Gulf of America. Yet while this changed the U.S. government's official position on the sea's name, Trump's order technically had no direct impact on corporations such as Google and Apple. The gulf is also not owned by any one country, being bordered by the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba. As such, the U.S. does not have the authority to completely unilaterally rename the entire body of water for everyone internationally.

Nevertheless, Google Maps made clear that it would adhere to Trump's renaming of the gulf, stating that it was following its "longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources." It made good on that promise earlier this week, with Google Maps adding the Gulf of Mexico's new Trump-mandated label in parenthesis when viewed from outside the U.S., and completely renaming it to the Gulf of America for those within it.

In contrast, Apple was more reticent on directly addressing the matter, having issued no statement on what it planned to do. Now it appears that Apple's approach to the gulf renaming issue is similar to Google's, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America after U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was officially updated.

Searching Apple Maps' macOS app for either "Gulf of Mexico" or "Gulf of America" directs you to the correct body of water, still labelled "Gulf of Mexico" on the map. However, the popup over it has now been amended to read "Gulf of America." Using the same search terms in Apple Maps' browser beta within the U.S. will also bring you to the right place, however it is relabelled "Gulf of America" on the map, while the sidebar and pin still reads "Gulf of Mexico."

Apple Maps' browser beta in the U.S., showing the Gulf of Mexico labelled as such on both the pin and sidebar, but labelled Gulf of America on the map. Credit: Mashable screenshot: Apple

In contrast, Australians searching Apple Maps' browser beta or its iOS app for "Gulf of Mexico" or "Gulf of America" are served the correct gulf, but both the map and sidebar currently still read "Gulf of Mexico." This may not be the case for long, though. Bloomberg reports Apple has stated that while it's starting with the U.S., it will soon roll out the name change for all users globally. It isn't clear whether that will mean a complete relabelling of the gulf, or simply adding "Gulf of America" in parenthesis as Google has.

Mashable has reached out to Apple for comment.

Apple Maps' browser beta in Australia, showing the Gulf of Mexico labelled as such on both the map and sidebar. Credit: Mashable screenshot: Apple

This isn't the first time Apple has amended its map to appease a country's government. The tech giant previously caused outrage in Ukraine when it marked Crimea as Russian territory in 2019, albeit only for people who accessed Apple's Maps and Weather apps from within Russia. At the time, Russia's parliament stated that "Apple [had] fulfilled its obligations and brought the applications on its devices in compliance with the requirements of the Russian legislation."

Trump's executive order may not impose a legal requirement that Apple alter how it labels the Gulf of Mexico/America. Even so, following the new U.S. administration's official stance is more likely to help endear Apple to Trump. And with so many big tech companies and CEOs now fighting to gain the president's favour, Apple probably doesn't want to be left behind.