Apple announced today that it signed an agreement to acquire the digital magazine service Texture, which serves articles from more than 200 magazines digitally on iOS, Windows, Amazon, and Android devices for a flat monthly fee.
Apple has acquired the entire company, including staff, and has assured users that the Android version of the app will still be supported. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.
Texture was founded in 2010 and was formerly called Next Issue until it rebranded in 2015. It was chiefly founded and owned by a group of major magazine publishers, but it also raised $ 50 million from other investors. It launched during a time when the magazine industry harbored some optimism that the iPad and other tablets would be popular platforms for premium subscriptions as an alternative to the Web, which was dominated by tech companies like Google. As digital magazines like News Corporation’s The Daily folded, it became clear that future wasn’t panning out.
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