What you need to know
- Apple has updated its Maps and Weather apps regarding Crimea.
- Users outside of Russia will now see the territory labeled as part of Ukraine.
- Users inside Russia will still see it as Russian territory.
Apple has updated its Maps and Weather apps to show that Crimea is a part of Ukraine for users outside of Russia.
As noted by Mashable:
Apple's Maps and Weather apps now mark Crimea as part of Ukraine when accessed outside of Russia. It appears the company has quietly updated its stance on the territorial dispute. Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine may have something to do with it.
The report does not note whether the change is reflected in Russia, however, iMore can confirm that the territory is still listed as part of Russia when accessed from inside the Russian Federation.
Apple changed the designation of Crimea and Sevastopol at the behest of the Russian government in 2019, drawing staunch criticism internationally and from Ukraine at the time. From 2019:
Yesterday, November 27, it emerged that Apple had amended the regions of Crimea and Sevastopol, so that they appear as Russian territories when using Maps and Weather. The change only affects users living in Russia, similar to other previous regional changes Apple has made to iOS, for example, its decision to remove the flag of Taiwan from the emoji keyboard in Hong Kong and China.The annexation of Crimea by Russia is an extremely controversial subject in the region. Russia's claim of ownership is not recognized by the majority of the international community, including the EU and the US. The conflict has killed more than 13,000 people.
It is not clear when Apple made this change, however it seems likely it was done in tandem with other measures the company has taken in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Apple has stopped selling its products in the country and has removed Russian state-sponsored media from its platform.
