Apple buys app for automating tasks in iOS and makes it available for free

Apple has bought Deskconnect, the company behind the Workflow app. That app, which allows users to automate tasks in iOS, is now made available by Apple free of charge, while the app previously cost money.

The deal closed on Wednesday, Techcrunch reports. The site does not know how much the Cupertino manufacturer paid for the developer of Workflow. The app will remain available for the time being. That’s unusual, because Apple removes the apps from the App Store from many of the companies it buys. In addition, the app no ​​longer costs money, but is now free of charge. Apple previously did that with Siri. The digital assistant initially remained in the App Store until the manufacturer integrated the technology into iOS in 2011.

Workflow is an app to automate tasks and users can then put those tasks on their home screen as a separate app. For example, it is possible to export files as PDF, or to easily look up an address from a calendar item in Google Maps while the app displays an image from Street View.

The app has been around since the end of 2014. It is unknown whether and how Apple plans to integrate the functionality into its mobile operating system. One of the creators of the app is Ari Weinstein, who rose to fame in the early days of iOS as a boy around 15 years old who participated in jailbreaking.