After Trump decree: Apple Maps apparently starts renaming mountains
Apple maps sometimes show the 6,000-metre "Denali" as "Mount McKinley" at – as ordered by Trump. A "Gulf of America" has not yet been sighted.
Screenshot of the name change to Apple Maps – here on the Mac. However, the name Denali still appears in some cases.
Apple appears to be preparing its first controversial name change for its map service: Apple Maps is now displaying the highest mountain in North America with the name "Mount McKinley" again in some cases. The change is obviously not consistent: On other devices of the Mac & i editorial team, the previous name "Denali" appeared unchanged on Tuesday.
Mt. McKinley but still no "Gulf of America"
US President Trump ordered the renaming of the mountain on the first day of his new term of office on January 20 – alongside the change of the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America", which caused quite a stir. A "Gulf of America" has not yet appeared on Apple Maps (accessed from Germany).
Competitor Google Maps has already specifically announced that it will implement the name changes specified by Trump as soon as they are listed in the "official government sources" – and received a lot of criticism as a result. Mexico's president appealed to Google not to implement the change. In contrast, Apple has so far kept a low profile and has not commented on the Trump decree or the possible changes to Apple Maps.
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Long name dispute over Denali
The 6,000-meter peak in Alaska in Denali National Park and Preserve was first renamed Denali under President Obama in 2015. Such a presidential decree (executive order) for a place name change only applies to government agencies – Private companies such as Apple and Google do not necessarily have to comply with it. The official US database for geographical names – Geographic Names Information System GNIS – displayed "Denali" unchanged under this name on Tuesday.
(lbe)
