Apple's former hardware engineering chief John Ternus became its CEO on Tuesday, and the company made a controversial decision on his very first day in charge.
As of Tuesday, Apple Maps users in the U.S. see the name "Lake America" instead of Lake Ontario for the Great Lake that straddles the New York—Ontario border.
Apple made this change after the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) updated the name for Lake Ontario to Lake America, following an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump last week.
Google Maps already implemented the same change on August 29.
In both Apple Maps and Google Maps, users in Canada still see the Lake Ontario name only, while users outside of the U.S. and Canada are shown both names:
- In the U.S.: Lake America
- In Canada: Lake Ontario
- Outside of the U.S. and Canada: Lake Ontario (Lake America)
The decision has been controversial because the name Lake Ontario dates back to the mid-1600s and has Indigenous origins, and Trump changed it to Lake America for politically-motivated reasons. In addition, some Canadians are upset about the U.S.'s trade war with Canada and Trump referring to the country as the "51st state."
Apple has not publicly commented on this decision.
