Apple is planning on updating its News app with a premium subscription-based option that would give users access to a number of digital magazines and news sources.
If that sounds familiar to iOS users, that’s because it’s the basic schtick of the app Texture, which was purchased by Apple for an undisclosed amount back in March. If you’re not familiar with Texture, it was a subscription-based service that gave access to over 200 magazines for the sum of $10 a month. Twenty of the hundred-strong team at Texture have been let go following the acquisition, with the rest having been integrated into the Apple News team.
At this time, it seems that development of Texture will cease as the team blends into Apple’s own. We have reached out to Texture to confirm whether this is the case.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, the upgraded version of Apple News is expected to launch within the year, with a portion of the subscription revenue being offered to the magazines involved in the deal. It’s currently unknown whether the price will stay the same as Texture’s $10 a month, but a similar price seems likely given Apple Music’s monthly subscription cost of $10.
This isn’t the first time that Apple has sought to expand its news offerings. The tech giant originally had an iOS news app named Newsstand, which also offered subscriptions to specific publications, though these were offered on a singular basis, not the group subscription that Texture offers. Newsstand was replaced by Apple News in 2015, but still has those same subscription options included within the app.
This would not be Apple’s first instance of growth through acquisition — Apple Music is based off the purchase of Beats Music and associated tech in 2014, and has risen to become one of the key players in the music streaming sphere with a subscriber base of 40 million.
Apple is one of the companies currently in the running to become the world’s first company valued at $1 trillion, and is apparently looking to increase its annual service revenue to $50 billion by 2021, so we can probably expect to see more expansion efforts from Apple in the coming months.
