Apple Snaps Up Personal Assistant App Cue

[Maura]

Apple has just made a significant acquisition, according to Phone Arena, snapping up personal assistant app Cue, which was, apparently, a forerunner to Google Now. How much Apple paid for the app remains a closely guarded secret, but Phone Arena says that it is rumoured to have paid something in the region of $35 to $45 million, with some rumours putting the figure even higher than that.

Apparently Apple had competition from Dropbox, who also put in a bid for Cue, but ultimately it was Apple’s bid that proved to be successful. Cue has now been shut down, with those who purchased the premium edition of the app receiving refunds.

Cue used to be called Greplin, and, according to Phone Arena, was very similar Google Now, only minus Google Search and the integration with Google Apps. The app worked by aggregating social data from the likes of Gmail, Facebook and Twitter, and would then create a personal daily plan for the user, giving them the right information, such as flight times, at the right time.

So why does Apple want Cue? Well, Phone Arena says that Apple is most likely looking to integrate Cue’s functions into the new iOS 7 “Today” page in the notification tray, and possibly use it in Siri as well. Don’t expect to see anything along those lines until at least iOS 8, though.


Source: Apple buys personal assistant Cue, takes aim at Google Now