Yahoo Ditching Maps, Discontinuing Support For Other Products In New Prioritization Plan

If you’re a stalwart user of Yahoo Maps we’ve got some bad news: The company plans to shut down the site and other tools this month in a revamp of its priorities.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the tech company made the decision to axe the once popular service and other regional and genre-specific products in order to better concentrate on key product pillars: search, communications and digital content.

“Part of that focus includes taking a hard look at our existing products and services, and ensuring our resources are spent smartly and with a clear purpose,” the company said in a blog post announcement. “Ultimately, we want to provide you with the best products, platforms and experiences possible.”

The Yahoo Maps site is slated to close at the end of June. But it won’t be going away completely. Instead, the company will continue to support the service in the context of Yahoo search and on other properties including Flickr.

In other announced changes, Yahoo will no longer support Yahoo Mail on older iOS devices.

“In order to maintain focus on the security, speed and functionality of Yahoo Mail on the latest systems, we are no longer supporting Yahoo Mail on the built-in Mail app for devices prior to iOS 5 on June 15, 2015,” the company says.

Individuals who use iOS4 and earlier versions can continue to use Yahoo Mail on their Safari mobile browser.

The company will also discontinue support of Yahoo Contacts syncing for devices prior to Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion starting on June 15. Users with older systems can access contacts through their web browser.

Additionally, the company will shut down several regional, genre-specific media properties to streamline editorial offerings, according to the blog.

Products slated for closure during the month of June include: Yahoo Music in France and Canada; Yahoo Movies in Spain; Yahoo TV in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Canada; Yahoo Autos in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy; and Yahoo Entertainment in Singapore.

The homepage for Yahoo Philippines and its genre-specific sites will also close and redirect to the Yahoo Singapore homepage.

Yahoo to shut down Maps site, other products this month [The Los Angeles Times]
Q2 2015 Progress Report On Our Product Prioritization [Yahoo]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist