Via iGeneration, it seems that the Workflow app is in maintenance mode and unlikely to gain any new features in the foreseeable future. According to an email reply a user received from Workflow support, there are no ‘further updates planned’ for the automation app although they will continue to maintain its existing functionality — presumably with occasional bug fix releases.
When Apple acquired Workflow in March, it remained available on the App Store, many fans of the app saw this as a signal it was not going to be abandoned. This does not seem to be the case however.
When the Workflow acquisition was announced, the app was made free. Apple has since refunded some of the user base who paid for the app previously.
In the email reply iGeneration shared with 9to5Mac, the Workflow representative left little room for ambiguity. No new features are coming to the app (including no new updates to the gallery of pre-built workflows to choose from). Here’s the text of the email:
We are no longer provide the ability to submit workflows to the Gallery, as we have no further planned updates for Workflow. Overall, we are continuing to support Workflow’s current functionality and have no plans to end support.
Apple’s plans for the Workflow team are unclear although the most obvious inference is that the company wants to build more advanced automation features into iOS itself. The Workflow app should probably be seen as a stop-gap offering until something is included in the operating system natively.
As a third-party app, Workflow always faced limitations on what it could do. It would be logical to expect an Apple approach to iOS automation to be much more streamlined and more capable.
Perhaps iOS 11 will give more visibility on Apple’s wider plans for professional iPhone and iPad users. There’s also the possibility that the Workflow team is now working on something completely different inside Apple and that the buyout was more of a talent ‘acquihire.’
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