If you open Apple Maps now, you’ll find that Apple has begun relabeling Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” The update comes after Trump’s order last week to rename the lake amid a continuing trade dispute with Canada.
The modification, which was initially noticed by Bloomberg, affects Apple Maps users located in the United States. Apple Maps users based in Canada will continue to see “Lake Ontario.” Users in other parts of the world will see both names displayed.
Google Maps updated Lake Ontario to Lake America a few days earlier. At the time, Google explained that its policy is to use the names designated by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated yesterday that Trump had “reached out to Apple directly” regarding the change. That outreach appears to have prompted Apple to follow suit and update the name in Apple Maps as well.
MapQuest, on the other hand, announced this week that it will not rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, resulting in a spike in downloads.
The update seems to be rolling out to Apple Maps users in stages. On my iPhone, Lake Ontario still appears, while others on the Digitio team are already seeing Lake America.
When Trump mandated the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” last year, Apple likewise complied with the change on Apple Maps.