Apple Inc.’s ongoing efforts to make it easier for people to create and modify their apps has led to the acquisition of Vancouver-based startup BuddyBuild.
BuddyBuild made the announcement on Jan. 2, saying it will join the Xcode engineering group at Apple. It will also discontinue Android app development and existing Free Starter plans starting in March, according to a blog post.
The company will, however, remain in Vancouver, which BuddyBuild described as a “hotbed of developer and engineering talent.”
“We’ve always been proud to be a Canadian company,” the post read.
In response to the announcement, several Android developers took to Twitter to voice their concerns about a lack of alternatives and the limited window to make the switch to another platform.
Interesting reactions on Apple’s acquisition of BuddyBuild.
Lots of congratulations outside Android Dev community while Android Devs are just asking for alternatives since Apple is ending Android support w 2-month notice.
Apple is one of few companies who gets a pass on this.
— Danny Roa (@dannyroa) January 2, 2018
Apple buys TestFlight
Microsoft buys HockeyApp
Apple buys BuddybuildI’m never going to find a stable DevOps platform.
— Adam Black (@atomsapple) January 2, 2018
Anyone using Buddybuild for Android apps now has just under two months to migrate to a different CI platform https://t.co/KUB6bzH7pb
— Steffan Davies (@steffandroid) January 2, 2018
When acquired by Apple in 2014, Burstly, the owner of the beta-testing platform TestFlight, also discontinued its support of Android development.
A few third-party services, such as Testbirds, filled the gap left behind by TestFlight. In a blog post from March 2014, Testbirds stressed the importance of opening up their platform to everyone.