Stuck at Home, Apple Is Binge-Buying
The time has come for Apple to buy
By Don Reisinger
While the world continues to struggle with the coronavirus outbreak, Apple, which has been criticized for years for not spending enough of its cash on acquisitions, is starting to flex that muscle and make some purchases.
In just the past week, Apple has closed in on three acquisitions. The company kicked off last week’s buying spree with the acquisition of DarkSky, a popular weather app that has been widely viewed as the best weather app in the industry. After the acquisition, Apple promptly shuttered potential new Android users’ access to the app by removing it from the Google Play marketplace.
On Friday, Bloomberg reported that Apple had quietly acquired another startup, called Voysis, that uses artificial intelligence to improve digital voice assistant performance in shopping apps. It’s unclear what Apple might want with the company, but suffice it to say that the technology will likely play a role in improving Apple’s virtual assistant Siri.
Now Apple is also reportedly acquiring NextVR, a company that has been combining virtual reality and live events to create a more engaging entertainment experience, according to 9to5Mac. As of this writing, that acquisition hasn’t been confirmed, but most experts…
