Workflow acquired by Apple and set free

The ultimate automation app for power users on iOS has been acquired by Apple and the app's price has been dropped to nothing. Workflow, winner of an Apple Design Award in 2015, previously was priced at $2.99.

The app itself is a sort of IFTTT for your phone. It lets you set up "workflows" that are sophisticated chains of events launched from in the app, from other apps using special extensions or via a Today Widget. Better yet, workflows can be exported as standalone apps on your home screen.

Given Apple's new ownership of the app, some things have changed app-wise. It's been updated to utilize Apple and other non-Google services. For example, a mapping feature now uses Apple Maps instead of Google Maps. The app also can no longer be used with Chrome for iOS. A few other miscellaneous integrations have been removed as well.

The purchase is a serious boon for iOS power users. No need to search for an automation tool, the best is now free. In contrast, Android has its share of automation tools such as Tasker , Automate and MacroDroid . Those are all commercial or freemium though. No totally free tool seems to share Workflow's robust feature set.