Apple is renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in its Maps app. The company started rolling out the name change for US users this afternoon, and Bloomberg reports that it will soon display the name for users globally, too.
Google Maps started showing the “Gulf of America” for users in the US on Monday. President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the name change in January, and the change entered the federal naming database, the Geographic Names Information System, this week.
Unlike Apple, Google Maps displays different names depending on a user’s location. Users in Mexico will continue to see the body of water labeled as the “Gulf of Mexico,” and users in other countries will see “Gulf of Mexico” alongside “Gulf of America” in parentheses. Other mapping apps, like Microsoft’s Bing and MapQuest, continue to show the Gulf of Mexico.
Apple currently offers its Maps app across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and in beta on the web. noti.group reached out to Apple with a request for more information about the change but didn’t immediately hear back.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
