Apple on Wednesday acquired the popular iOS automation app Workflow for an unspecified sum, says a report from TechCrunch. Workflow allows users to connect apps, and functions within those apps, via a strings of commands to automate tasks.
I haven’t been able to get financial details for the deal, but if I come up with them I’ll update. As far as I know it was a solid payday for the team and small upside for investors. Workflow had raised an un-announced seed round of what we’re hearing was in the range of a couple million from Lowercase, Eniac and General Catalyst.
Workflow first hit the scene in 2014, and quickly became popular for its ability to allow users to create customized workflows to automate tasks such as creating an animated GIF from a collection of photos, posting photos to multiple social networks simultaneously, create PDFs from Safari or other apps, and much more.
Workflow is your personal automation tool, enabling you to drag and drop any combination of actions to create powerful workflows for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Workflow includes over 200 actions, including those for Contacts, Calendar, Maps, Music, Photos, Camera, Reminders, Safari, AirDrop, Twitter, Facebook, Dropbox, Evernote, iCloud Drive, and Health, to name a few.
For example, you can use Workflow to:
* Make animated GIFs
* Add a home screen icon that calls a loved one
* Make PDFs from Safari or any app with a share sheet
* Get directions to the nearest coffee shop in one tap
* Tweet the song you’re listening to
* Get all of the images on a web page
* Send a message including the last screenshot you took
* And so much more…
Apple is not only purchasing the Workflow app, but the app’s team is said to be coming along for the ride. Team members Ari Weinstein, Conrad Kramer, and Nick Frey, will be joining the company as part of the deal.
“We are thrilled to be joining Apple,” said Weinstein in a statement. “We’ve worked closely with Apple from the very beginning, from kickstarting our company as students attending WWDC to developing and launching Workflow and seeing its amazing success on the App Store. We can’t wait to take our work to the next level at Apple and contribute to products that touch people across the world.”
In a somewhat unusual move, Apple has left the app on the App Store and has made it free to download. The Cupertino firm has been known to pull apps from the App Store following an acquisition of this type.
Workflow is now free, and is available for iOS device, via the App Store. [GET IT HERE]
