Apple will buy Pixelmator, maker of popular photo editing apps
Apple Inc. agreed to acquire software maker Pixelmator and add a popular, high-quality photo editing app to its offering. Pixelmator announced the acquisition on its blog on Friday, saying the Lithuania-based team would join Apple. The 17-year-old company – founded by brothers Saulius Dailide and Aidas Dailide – makes apps for the Mac, iPad and iPhone.
The two companies already have a close relationship: Apple has regularly touted Pixelmator software in its marketing — including an iPad event last month — and the apps use an interface similar to the iPhone maker’s own applications.
“We have been inspired by Apple from day one,” Pixelmator said in the blog post. “Now we can reach an even wider audience.”
The company’s flagship app, Pixelmator Pro, includes advanced editing tools reminiscent of features from Photoshop, Illustrator and other Adobe Inc. programs, such as layers and vectors. The software also uses a range of Apple-specific technologies, including iCloud, Shortcuts and the iPad’s Pencil.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, confirmed the transaction on Friday. The terms were not disclosed.
For Apple, the acquisition gives customers a high-quality photo-editing app for the first time since the company shut down Aperture, the Photoshop alternative, about a decade ago. Recently, the company released pro-level apps including Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on the iPad via subscription.
Pixelmator Pro costs $50 on Mac, while a standard version for iPad and iPhone costs $10. The company also offers a Photomator editing app on Apple devices. The company said there would be no immediate material changes to the programs, but it will announce further updates later.
Apple hasn’t announced many acquisitions lately, although it did buy DarwinAI earlier this year to help with production, Bloomberg News reported. The company’s largest purchase to date was the $3 billion acquisition of Beats in 2014.
© 2024 BloombergLP
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
