Even after dropping billions of dollars on shareholders and investing heavily in its supply chain, Apple has more than $120 billion in the bank.
So it can easily afford a little startup shopping spree.
We've noticed a trend in apps we've reviewed recently: More often than not, they fix basic flaws in the iPhone's software, or fill in the gaps in Apple's deficient Web services.
When Tim Cookreorganized Apple's top management in October, he talked about the need to have the company's hardware, software, and services work seamlessly together.
Easier said than done: Apple has long been a hotbed of hardware-design talent. In software, it's a mixed bag, nailing some aspects of the user experience and botching others. And in services? We'll just say "Siri" and "Apple Maps" and leave it at that.
It's not enough for Cook to reshuffle Apple's leadership. He needs to build up the company's talent base. Great developers like to work with other great developers, and Apple, for all its strengths, hasn't had the critical mass of talent in Web-based services and software that it needs.
Cook doesn't have to look far, though: Apple's own App Store is a daily talent show for developers. He only needs to click "Buy" and persuade them to join the mother ship.
Because he doesn't really need their products, as much as their keen eyes for the flaws in Apple's offerings and their knack for coming up with the right fix.
The guys from Flexibits improved on Apple's built-in calendar.
Apple's built-in Calendar just isn't that great. It isn't intuitive, and its design is plain, verging on dull.
We like Fantastical because it fills in all the areas where the iPhone app falls short.
On top of fixing the iPhone's Calendar, the guys at Flexibits have completely reimagined what the desktop calendar experience should be like on a Mac—and that's where Apple really needs the help. Fantastical for the Mac is loads better than the built-in calendar. (For example, it's easily accessible through your menu bar.)
Acquiring Flexibits is a no-brainer. The technology is already there and the team can get right to work on making Apple's built-in calendar software on all platforms much, much better.
Checkmark is 20 times better than Apple's Reminders
Apple's Reminders fall short in several areas.
Checkmark smartly puts date- and time-based reminders together with lists and location-based reminders. It's well designed and takes excellent advantage of the iPhone's geolocation capabilities.
The guys at Snowman, the makers of Checkmark, are already hard at work on a desktop-based version of their app.
Besides having a great app, cofounder Ryan Cash and the rest of his team are perfectionists. They'd fit right into the Apple culture.
Instead of making its own terrible podcast app, Apple should have just bought Downcast.
Apple's Podcast app is an epic disaster. Downcast is light-years ahead of Apple's app. Why didn't Apple just hire the team behind Downcast? That seems easier.
While Apple's Podcast app is cluttered and dumb, Downcast functions much better and is beautifully designed. It just works—as Apple likes to say.
Downcast features AirPlay support, gestures, the ability to speed up playback and stream episodes without downloading, gesture support, and viewing embedded images in podcast episodes.
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