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Apple to Shut Down Texture App for Windows Following Acquisition

Friday May 4, 2018 10:55 am PDT by Juli Clover
Following its acquisition by Apple, Texture this week announced plans to shutter its Texture magazine subscription app for Windows users at the end of June.

As noted by The Verge, Texture recently sent out emails to its users letting them know that the Windows service will be discontinued on June 30th, and the company also added a notice to its website.


Texture says the Windows app, which has not been updated in some time, is being shut down to "keep things working smoothly." The discontinuation of the app may have been on the horizon regardless of the acquisition by Apple based on its infrequent updates and poor reviews.
Texture is an all-access pass to the world's best magazines. To keep things working smoothly, older versions of the app sometimes need to be retired. After June 30th, 2018, the Texture Windows app will no longer be available. Your Texture subscription will continue to be available on compatible phones or tablets running iOS or Android and on Fire HD tablets along with ongoing access to all the magazines you have selected as your favorites.
Windows users who are losing access to Texture through the Windows platform will be able to continue to access Texture using smartphones and tablets running iOS or Android, but there will no longer be a way to read Texture magazines on a Windows PC.

Apple first announced plans to acquire Texture in mid-March. At the time, Apple iTunes chief Eddy Cue said Apple was "committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users."

For those unfamiliar with the service, Texture offers subscribers unlimited access to more than 200 digital magazines for $9.99 per month. Available titles include major magazines like Cosmopolitan, People, Better Homes and Gardens, Time, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Condé Nast Traveler, Allure, Billboard, Town & Country, ELLE, Good Housekeeping, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Vogue, and more.

Rumors have suggested Apple plans to use its Texture acquisition to launch an upgraded Apple News app with a subscription-based news service that would include Texture's magazine subscription options.

The news subscription option, which would be similar to Apple Music but for news and magazines, would provide a boost to Apple's growing services category.

Tags: Apple acquisition, Texture
[ 82 comments ]


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miketcool
17 months ago

Yeah... good move Apple. Say your in the service business? Then WHY would you shut down an entire PAYING market segment?


Yeah, this is a great way to get future Apple users, take away their subscriptions on another platform.
Rating: 15 Votes
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Serge88
17 months ago

It's funny enough that people are still paying for those magazines...

But even funnier is deliberately shutting out those people.


Yea, I'm from the old generation who pays for music, pays for software and pays for the magazine.

Serge
Rating: 9 Votes
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JRobinsonJr
17 months ago
Yeah... good move Apple. Say your in the service business? Then WHY would you shut down an entire PAYING market segment?
Rating: 8 Votes
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The Barron
17 months ago
Right on, Apple.
Make people move over from the Dark Side of Windows.
Rating: 6 Votes
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Altis
17 months ago
It's funny enough that people are still paying for those magazines...

But even funnier is deliberately shutting out those people.
Rating: 6 Votes
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JRobinsonJr
17 months ago

Yeah, this is a great way to get future Apple users, take away their subscriptions on another platform.


You would be spot-on IF Apple showed more than a casual interest in driving the platform on anything but mobile. OTOH, they talk up their services component as an increasing portion of revenue. IF that's true, then they need to let services stand. They now own a cross-platform PAID SERVICE. As a stockholder I expect them to maximize revenue across all lines of business, including services. By purchasing companies with paying customers then shutting down those customers, Apple is not maximizing that value.

EDIT:

In all fairness, there are many reasons to do this, some good... some bad... some reasonable... some not. I just get frustrated at Apples "buy them then immediately shut down support for all other platforms" approach. The world is cross-platform. Many of us have a mix of systems, each providing functionality for a specific purpose. Personally, when I look for new services I look for providers that have cross-platform support. I do NOT want to have multiple different products/subscriptions that are platform specific. From my perspective there is zero value in that.
Rating: 5 Votes
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miketcool
17 months ago
To take a more positive approach, they may be contractually obligated to pull the app.
Rating: 5 Votes
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travisharger
17 months ago
Anybody trying to start a Windows magazine subscription app? Huge market segment ready for harvest, worst case we get bought out by Apple.
Rating: 5 Votes
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cppguy
17 months ago
To keep things working smoothly, you fix your app, not shut it down.
Rating: 5 Votes
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MacLawyer
17 months ago
"Following its acquisition by Apple ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/03/12/apple-acquires-texture/'), Texture ('https://www.texture.com') this week announced plans to shutter its Texture magazine subscription app for Windows users ('https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/texture-unlimited-magazines/9wzdncrfj0x6?ranMID=24542') at the end of June."

So is Steve Ballmer running Apple now?
Rating: 5 Votes

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