Apple Buys Prss iPad Magazine Publishing Platform

Apple has purchased the digital magazine design company Prss, which could be a sign that the iPhone and iPad maker plans to do for periodical design what it did for books with iBooks Author. Prss started life as the production tool for the award winning iPad magazine Trvl and was spun off as its own company in 2013.

Apple buys digital magazine design company PrssApple buys digital magazine design company Prss

Apple offered its usual confirmation of the purchase by telling TechCrunch, "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

Prss offered easy to use WYSIWYG design tools that didn't require any need to know how to code, and publications could include up to 30 collaborators.

Assuming Apple is planning on offering some form of Prss as a design tool, just as it did with iBooks Author, interactive magazines could be much easier for people without extensive publishing experience to make and distribute.

Apple offers its iBooks Author software for the Mac as a free download, so it's possible it could do the same for Prss. Apple could also roll Prss features into iBooks Author and offer a single app for both book and magazine design.

There isn't any word on exactly how Apple plans to take advantage of Prss. Neither company is saying how much the deal cost.