Yesterday Apple confirmed that it was taking a huge step into the digital magazine market. The company’s Eddy Cue said in a statement that it was busy buying digital magazine distributor Texture – a move that could improve not only its News app, but also a number of other services.
Texture presently gives its users access to content from a list of more than 200 magazines, which means the deal will give Apple access to a massive catalogue of digital magazines from a variety of publishers.
Cue added that they were excited about the deal and said: “We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users.”
Texture’s CEO, John Loughlin, was also thrilled by the announcement, and added that they could not think of a better future or home for the service than Apple.
Technology firms currently have a major problem with addressing the issue of ‘fake’ news and with Apple committed to growing its services revenue as fast as possible, this transaction might come with huge potential.
Cue is currently at SXSW, and many people expect him to use the opportunity to announce more details about Apple’s content plans.
At the moment, Texture can be downloaded for free from the App Store, as well as from Google’s Play Store for Android and ChromeOS users. Currently the service comes with a free 7-day trial period, but if you want to keep on using it after that you have to pay a subscription fee of $9.99 per month.
Right now, nobody really knows exactly how Apple intends to integrate the Texture service into its existing digital product line, and whether the monthly subscription fee will remain the same or not. Watch this space for more news in this regard.