President Trump reportedly “contacted directly” the company.
Apple has officially started replacing Lake Ontario with “Lake America” on Apple Maps for users in the United States. This decision follows an executive order from President Donald Trump, which has already led to a name change within Google Maps. By Bloombergthe lake will remain “Lake Ontario” in Canada, but will display both nicknames in other countries outside the United States.
President Trump, who in addition to being in the middle of an escalating trade war with Canada is also facing an escalating U.S. conflict with Iran, has apparently become personally invested in ensuring that the iPhone maker updates its maps accordingly. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Trump “reached out directly to Apple,” in comments reported by Reuters Monday.
The change, which will only be reflected on US users’ Apple Maps, appears to still be rolling out. While “Lake America” displays on desktop, the mobile app displays both names as of this writing. Google and Apple also both changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” following a separate executive order earlier this year.
Although the two largest navigation apps have readily updated their maps to reflect Trump’s latest whims, not all map apps have. MapQuest suddenly found itself relevant after announcing in an article on X that it would not rename Lake Ontario. The app later became the top navigation app in the App Store.
