Apple renames Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ on US maps

Apple has renamed Lake Ontario to "Lake America" on its maps service, following a similar change by Google after an order from US President Donald Trump.

The new name is displayed to Apple Maps users in the US, while the Canadian version continues to identify the body of water as Lake Ontario. International users see both names.

Lake Ontario is one of North America's five Great Lakes and lies along the border between New York state and Canada's Ontario province.

Apple made the change after Trump signed an executive directive calling for the lake to be renamed, further straining relations with Canada amid a trade dispute.

The directive instructed the US Interior Department to update the name in federal databases and official materials within 30 days.

Google introduced the same change in recent days, triggering significant criticism and debate on social media. MapQuest, another major mapping service, has said it has no plans to adopt the new name. The change has already been incorporated into the US government's official geographic naming system.

Apple made a similar adjustment last year when it changed "Gulf of Mexico" to "Gulf of America" at Trump's request.

The latest update coincides with John Ternus taking over as Apple's new chief executive officer.

Former CEO Tim Cook, however, who now serves as executive chairman, will remain involved in helping the company.