It is apparently the season of acquisitions in the tech industry. While the news of WhatsApp’s acquisition by Facebook are still fresh, we are now hearing that Burstly, the company behind the popular iOS beta testing platform TestFlight, has been acquired by Apple.
TestFlight team had been dropping hints of such a deal for some time now. Earlier this week, TestFlight stated that it would no longer be offering Android support, limiting itself exclusively to the iOS platform. It was further announced that it was discontinuing TestFlight SDK which means that no new customers can sign up for it any more. However, existing users of the SDK can continue using TestFlight.
The deal between Burstly and Apple is not confirmed, although many reputable tech sources including TechCrunch have nearly confirmed it. An Apple spokesperson, when asked about the deal, told TechCrunch, “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”
In the typical jargon of the tech industry, this is a confirmation. However, neither of the two companies have revealed any details of the deal, although we can expect more information in the coming days. How is this acquisition going to impact Burstly and its key product, TestFlight? Rumor has it that the Burstly team is already working at an Apple location now, which would mean that Apple has acquired the company, its products and the team.
This may be Apple’s attempt to notch up its iOS app testing platform. TestFlight has proven very useful in that regard and Apple may be able to expand on the potential of the app by integrating it into its official set of app-testing tools.
Source: TechCrunch
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