• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Apple’s New Ads Could Fool You

By
Hilary Brueck
Hilary Brueck
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Hilary Brueck
Hilary Brueck
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 15, 2016, 9:28 AM ET

Apple users could be in for a surprise as the company debuts its new ads for Apple News. But then again, maybe they won’t even notice the change.

The new ad format for the news app is designed to put banner ads more seamlessly side by side with regular articles in the news feed. It’s a shift for the app, which previously hosted barely any sponsored content, as Business Insider reports.

Apple (AAPL) tells Fortune the new native news ads, which debuted in January, are “intended to blend in with their surrounding” distinguished only by a sponsored tag in the bottom corner of the screen. That means the content is virtually indistinguishable from regular news stories:

A mock-up of one of the new Apple News Ads. Image from Apple
Apple for developers

The Apple News app launched last year and over 100 publishers, including Fortune parent company Time Inc., signed on to the service. But Time CEO Joe Ripp said revenue from the app last year was underwhelming.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Though the company says at least 40 million people across the U.S., U.K., and Australia have tried out the service, Apple admitted earlier this year that the company’s not really sure how many people are reading Apple News on a regular basis. The service requires iOS 9, so it’s not available on all Apple devices.

For more on the Apple News app, watch:

Meanwhile, other mobile giants are clambering to serve up faster reading for mobile phones. Both Google AMP and Facebook Instant Articles are working to kill load times for articles. Facebook (FB) Instant Articles for mobile can load up to 10 seconds faster than average, making them more click-friendly and share-friendly, while Google (GOOGL) AMP pages load faster and can show up higher in searches.

 

Correction: (Mar. 16 3:00 E.T.) An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that the new ads will be debuting in March. Apple tells Fortune the new ad format has been available to publishers since mid-January. This post has been updated accordingly.

About the Author
By Hilary Brueck
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Current price of Ethereum for March 4, 2026
Personal FinanceEthereum
Current price of Ethereum for March 4, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 4, 2026
2 hours ago
erik
Future of WorkRobots
Top AI economist who found ‘significant and disproportionate impact’ on entry-level jobs finds link between robots and minimum wage hikes
By Nick LichtenbergMarch 4, 2026
2 hours ago
CryptoCryptocurrency
Exclusive: Venture giant a16z crypto targeting around $2 billion for its fifth fund amid blockchain market downturn, sources say
By Ben Weiss and Leo SchwartzMarch 4, 2026
2 hours ago
AIU.S. workers
Viral deepfake ad casts Musk, Bezos, and Altman as corpulent overlords powering AI on human sweat. Its creator says the best jokes tell the truth
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 4, 2026
4 hours ago
OpenAI logo
AIOpenAI
OpenAI sees Codex users spike to 1 million, positions coding tool as gateway to AI agents for business
By Jeremy KahnMarch 4, 2026
6 hours ago
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
Lenovo’s CIO says patience is a virtue in AI investing, but the clock is ticking
By John KellMarch 4, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Health
Palantir and other tech companies are stocking offices with tobacco products to increase worker productivity
By Catherina GioinoMarch 4, 2026
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Interest on the $38.8 trillion national debt has tripled since 2020, and it already costs taxpayers more than defense and Medicaid
By Nick LichtenbergMarch 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Cybersecurity
Cities join Amazon in cutting ties with license-plate reader Flock following Ring's Super Bowl ad—that Flock 'didn't have anything to do with'
By Catherina GioinoMarch 3, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Meet a burned out 28-year-old who pays $168 a month in China's faux Venice to retire early from her Shanghai finance gig
By Albee Zhang and The Associated PressMarch 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of March 3, 2026
By Danny BakstMarch 3, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard controls a sprawling business empire that dominates the economy
By Jason MaMarch 2, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.