Apple’s app acquisition record hints at a bright future for Pixelmator

Apple bought Pixelmator earlier this fall, in a rare occurrence of the company buying an existing app. Though questions about its plans abound, looking at Apple’s app acquisition history points to a bright future ahead for Pixelmator.

Apple has a strong track record with acquired apps

John Gruber wrote this weekend on Daring Fireball about Apple’s history with app acquisitions.

The full piece is well worth a read, walking through the various outcomes for different acquisitions over the years.

Here’s a good summary in the form of two excerpts:

The bottom line is that what we, as users, hope for after a big company acquires a beloved app is for an outcome where the users of that app remain happy. That might mean just keeping the app going, like with Logic. Or it might mean scrapping the standalone app, but bringing the core features of the app into the OS itself, like with Dark Sky. Sometimes it’s a mix, though, like with Shazam.

[…]

Apple is a very large company, and Pixelmator is a small company with two very cool apps. But an examination of Apple’s acquisition history doesn’t give me any reason for alarm. Apple really does tend to do right by cool app acquisitions.

I was struck, in reading, by how much trust Apple deserves for its track record of app acquisitions.

The problem, any time a beloved app gets acquired by another company, is that those stories often don’t end well.

• new owners may over-optimize for profits and make the app worse in the process
• or they may neglect the app altogether, content with milking existing revenue streams
• often the creative team behind the app departs, leaving a void the new owners can’t fill

These scenarios have played out countless times, leading many excellent apps to become a shell of their former selves.

But Apple’s track record is entirely different. As Gruber puts it, “Apple respects the art of making great apps,” and “Pixelmator in particular is simply too good to scrap.”

I don’t know if Apple plans to keep Pixelmator and Photomator running as-is for years to come, or integrate their tech into the Photos app, or something else altogether.

But whatever their plans are, it’s good to remember that this isn’t just like any other app acquisition in the tech world. Apple has a strong track record in this area, and that points to a bright future for Pixelmator.

What do you think Apple’s plans for Pixelmator might be? Let us know in the comments.

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