‘Virtual newsstand’ lets users read about 200 digital titles for a monthly subscription fee

Apple is to buy the digital magazine service Texture, which lets users read titles for a monthly subscription fee.

The “virtual newsstand” gives readers online access to current and back issues of about 200 titles, including Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Vogue and Cosmopolitan, for a monthly fee of $9.99 (£7.19).

“We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users,” said the Apple senior vice-president of internet software and services, Eddy Cue.

The Texture app is available for iPad, iPhone, Android devices and Amazon Fire tablets.

Apple did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Texture is owned by Next Issue Media, a joint-venture between the publishers Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, Rogers Media and private equity firm KKR.

The Texture deal signals Apple’s latest move to develop content-related services and platforms. In December it bought Shazam, the London-based app that allows smartphone users to identify music, for a reported $400m.

In February the European commission announced it was reviewing the Shazam deal after requests from seven EU countries that feared the deal may “adversely affect competition”.