If Apple does this, to me, it signals a fundamental shift in their business model and how they will approach customers.
If they’re going to just try to be Google, then I’ll use Google services again. I don’t feel like being a beta tester, again, for a service that is going to take years to develop.
IMHO, if I’m just going to keep getting ads shoved down my throat, there’s nothing stopping me from jumping ship once my hardware gets older.
This feels like a cash grab for apple, more than a valuable service.