[huitzitziltzin]

It’s too much money to turn down. The costs are next to nothing.

Sure, there might be some effects where a few users are turned off and leave the platform, but the loss of those users is likely outweighed by the gains from advertising, probably by a lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have A/B tested that to the extent that they can.

You are welcome to hate it but that’s the calculation they and everyone else who serves ads has made.

[scarface74]

Jobs was no saint. But, he would never approve of an initiative that he himself wouldn’t want to use.

Schiller was the last person that had Steve’s sensibilities.

[lapcat]

Schiller took over the App Store in 2015. App Store Search Ads started in 2016.

[scarface74]

Well shit. There goes that thesis.

[musicale]

We should really inform Phil of our disappointment. It's not like he needs more money after all. ;-)

[musicale]

> The costs are next to nothing

Ads are certainly profitable - the cost is damage to the user experience.

Historically Apple has prioritized user experience, which is probably why many Apple users (Gruber et al.) hate this.