Apple has a new app in its iOS arsenal that it just made free for its users.
The technology giant bought the popular Workflow app and its small team of four employees, TechCrunch reported late Wednesday evening. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Workflow has been a hit with iOS users since it debuted in 2014. Although the app used to cost $2.99, Apple (AAPL) said it will now be free to download.
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People can use the app to essentially create shortcuts and automate tasks across the various apps that might be installed on iPhone or iPad. For example, people can create a shortcut within Workflow to automatically upload photos into their Dropbox cloud storage service, or write messages that can post simultaneously to different social networking and messaging services like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Apple appears to be a longtime fan of the app, naming Workflow as one of the its favorite apps in 2015 and heralding it as “most innovative.”
What’s interesting about this deal is that Apple is not just buying the company for its employees, but wants to keep the app running on its online store, TechCrunch reported. In many technology acquisitions involving corporate entities buying small appmakers, the larger company eventually integrates the app’s features into its own products after shutting it down.
