Roger Fingas
In what may be a signal from its new ownership, Apple is shutting down the Windows client for magazine service Texture after June 30.
At some point in July, the app will be pulled from the Microsoft Store and stop working, the developers of Texture said in emails and app-based warnings sent this week, according to The Verge. Significantly the iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire (Android-based) editions will keep working.
Although Apple has a tendency to shut out competing platforms once it buys a company and its products, Texture said on its website that it's ending Windows support to "keep things working smoothly." The Windows app hasn't been updated since Texture changed its name from Next Issue, and even without the Apple takeover the developer might have decided to cut off Windows to save costs and simplify support. Some customers have complained about being unable to download magazines.
Windows users will now be forced to use an iOS or Android device, as Texture doesn't have a Web client.
Apple announced the Texture acquisition alongside an SXSW appearance by Eddy Cue. The company is rumored to be preparing a paid news/magazine subscription service of its own, which would ride on top of Apple News.
It may even be considering a purchase of Conde Nast, which would give it access to well-known magazines like The New Yorker, Vogue, and Wired.
The Texture app remains free, with two tiers of subscription. A $9.99 per month tier gives a choice from over 200 monthly titles, with a $14.99 giving you the monthly titles, plus some weekly ones, like People, Entertainment Weekly, Time and others.
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10 Comments
I don’t think this should be interpreted (by others; not saying the article does this) as “mean old Apple cutting out Windows owners.” The natural medium for reading magazines is not desktop computers, it’s tablets (or giant-ass smartphones, I guess). There’s no indication Apple will cease making the service available to Android, since their money’s as green as anyone else’s, but even Texture itself wasn’t interested in chasing Windows users because that’s not really the best use of a business-and-gaming-focused desktop (and that applies to the Mac as well, but Apple would be incredibly unlikely to discontinue Mac support).
Apple takes "courage" to shut down the Texture Windows PC platform app. Don't fix it, judy cancel it and shut it down!
Texture cannot be access through the web browser! Has to be through the app!