Looks like Apple’s out shopping again. The latest acquisition that gets added to the Apple portfolio is Buddybuild, a Canadian start up that focuses on creating developer tools for Android and iOS. Naturally, Apple has announced it will be stopping Android support for the platform in the coming weeks. What does this acquisition mean for Apple? Let’s find out

Who is Buddybuild?

Buddybuild is a Canadian startup that focuses on creating developer tools for app developers. Before the acquisition, the company catered to both Android and iOS developers. Its primary focus was building integration and debugging tools that helped apps in development iron out bugs and update features. Reactions to the buyout have been mixed so far, with many from the Android community anxious for alternatives. It looks like the company will remain stationed in Vancouver, Canada as per a blog post on its site: “We've always been proud to be a Canadian company, so we're also pleased that we will be staying right here in Vancouver — a hotbed of developer and engineering talent.”

What will Apple do with Buddybuild?

The company will join Apple’s Xcode engineering group with the goal of building developer tools for the iOS community “We're excited to share that the buddybuild team has joined the Xcode engineering group at Apple,” The company wrote in a blog post. “To build amazing developer tools for the entire iOS community. The buddybuild service will remain available to existing customers to build, test, and ship iOS apps to testers through buddybuild.com. As of today, we are no longer accepting new customers. Existing Free Starter plans and Android app development will be discontinued on March 1, 2018.”

Why will this acquisition benefit Apple?

This is a long-term play by Apple to make iOS developers rely less on third party solutions and offer them a robust in-house suite of tools that will make it easier for them to develop apps for their platform. They already have plans to integrate the start-up’s software into Xcode, giving developers an avenue to more efficiently test and tweak the apps they plan to release on iOS. The reaction from the Android community is understandably grim considering support for the platform expires on March 1st. This acquisition has also brought to light the predicament of independent developers who can’t seem to find a stable DevOps platform, with Microsoft acquiring HockeyApp and Apple gobbling up both TestFlight and Buddybuild.