Apple is reportedly set to buy the Swell podcast and talk radio app for $30 million.
That’s the claim being made by Recode, which states that “multiple sources” have confirmed the move.
While Apple already has its own podcast app, it’s not particularly good. In fact, as the report points out, it has gained an average score of 1.5 stars out of 5 with users.
Swell does things a little differently, and a whole lot smarter. It compiles podcasts from various sources into personalised streams for the user.
According to the original report, the Swell app had high engagement among its users, but those user numbers didn’t amount to very many. An Apple acquisition appears to be the best solution for all parties, with much of the Swell team said to be joining Apple.
This does mean, however, that the Swell app will be shut down some time this week. Also, an Android version of the app that has recently been in beta testing will obviously never see the light of day.
Complete with the high-profile acquisition of Beats, which comes with its own curated music streaming service, and the slightly less high profile acquisition of book recommendation service BookLamp, Apple appears to be bolstering its media content offering outside of iTunes.
With the considerably improved iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite also shipping over the next few months, Apple appears to be on a bit of a software and services overhaul crusade.
Read More: iOS 8 vs iOS 7: What’s new?
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
