Apple Maps now indicates that Crimea is part of Ukraine. That shouldn’t be a surprise … it is. But the app reportedly showed the peninsula as part of no country in the wake of the 2014 Russian invasion and subsequent occupation.
It appears Russia’s recent invasion of the rest of Ukraine pushed Apple to change the way it labels the region.
Apple Maps again says Crimea is part of Ukraine
Don’t make the mistake of thinking geography is simply about the locations of seas, mountains, roads, etc. It can be very controversial because there are plenty of areas claimed by different countries. There’s no easy answer for how to display these — no matter which choice a mapmaker picks, someone will be angry.
The Crimean peninsula is a prime example. Ukraine never gave up its claim to this region after Russia annexed it, and loudly protested any map that showed the area as part of Russia.
As Mashable points out:
“Apple’s apps tried to sidestep the issue by refusing to record Crimea as part of any country when accessed in most places. However, in 2019 Apple updated its Maps and Weather apps to show Crimea as part of Russia when viewed within Russia, defying international consensus and angering Ukrainians.”
But fast forward a few years and Apple is no longer on the fence. It now once again shows that Crimea is part of Ukraine.
It’s apparently not worried about anger from Russia hurting sales of Apple products in that country because the Mac-maker has stopped selling of its products in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
