Not really a new thing. Before GPS was in everyone's pocket, you had to get specialized devices. The companies that made those generally gave you 1 free World Map download (or in some cases only your region for free), but future updates or expansions to it would cost a non-trivial amount.

I'm honestly surprised that one of the big players hasn't tried to offer some sort of premium map subscription now that I think about it, though.

ETA: also, physical maps and atlases could be purchased on subscriptions through mail-in stuffs before the internet