Apple has acquired one-man photo startup SnappyLabs for an undisclosed sum. The app disappeared from the App Store late last month as did all content from the developer's website which led some to realize something was up.
The latest version of SnappyCam for iOS sold for $1 in the App Store and included technology created by founder John Papandriopoulos that allowed the iPhone to capture full-resolution images at 20 to 30 frames per second. Specifically, Papandriopoulos was able to redesign how JPG images are compressed which led to the breakthrough.
That's significantly faster that Apple's own native camera application is capable of. According to sources speaking to TechCrunch, the startup received acquisition interest from most of the usual players which likely means Google and others.
We haven't heard anything official from Apple or Papandriopoulos on the acquisition as of writing but as the publication points out, Papandriopoulos' girlfriend posted a link to the story on Facebook congratulating him which effectively confirms the deal.
An acquisition of this nature would fit right into Apple's strategy as they've typically targeted focused teams with plans to implement acquired IP into future products. As such, it shouldn't be much of a surprise to see Apple add a faster burst mode to its iDevice lineup in the near future. After all, photography is now a core use for smartphones and a good camera is one of the biggest selling points for most consumers.