Apple is buying Texture, a subscription-based digital magazine newsstand that gives readers unlimited access to more than 200 magazines a month for just $9.99 a month. Previously called Next Issue, Texture rebranded in 2015. The digital newsstand will continue to operate without any changes. In the deal which should be closing soon, Apple will acquire the company, including Texture employees. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

‘We’re excited Texture will join Apple along with an impressive catalog of magazines from many of the world’s leading publishers,’ said Eddy Cue, Apple senior vice president of Internet Software & Services, in a news release. ‘We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users.’

John Loughlin, CEO of Next Issue Media/Texture, also commented on the deal.

‘I’m thrilled that Next Issue Media, and its award-winning Texture app, are being acquired by Apple,’ said Loughlin. ‘The Texture team and its current owners, Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, Rogers Media and KKR, could not be more pleased or excited with this development. We could not imagine a better home or future for the service.’

Founded in 2010, Texture includes access to magazines including:

• Bon Appetit
• Vanity Fair
• National Geographic
• Parents
• Esquire
• GQ
• The Atlantic
• Rolling Stone
• Cosmopolitan
• InStyle
• Architectural Digest
• Cooking Light
• Vogue
• Fast Company

Out of more than 20,000 ratings, the Texture app received a 4.8 star rating (out of 5) in the App Store. According to Venture Beat, Texture has less than a million subscribers and speculates that the acquisition of Texture could be helping Apple replace its failed Newsstand and News apps

Texture is available for iPad, iPhone, Android devices and Amazon fire tablets. It competes against other digital newsstand subscriptions like Magzter, which offers access to more than 5,000 magazines for $9.99 a month, and Readly, which offers unlimited access to more than 2,500 titles for $9.99 a month.

Insider Take:

This is an interesting acquisition. Among Texture, Magzter and Readly, Texture offers dramatically fewer magazines than its competitors. All three are at the same price point and there is a lot of crossover in the titles offered. We wonder why Apple made this acquisition and what it intends to do with it. Will it add new titles, change the price, use it to boost App Store sales, or did Apple acquire Texture for some other purpose? We’ll be watching to see what changes, if any, Apple makes to this digital magazine subscription product.