Apple Acquires Rabbit 3 Times Assets After 2025 Design Award for Swift Tool Play

2 articles · Updated · AppleInsider · Jun 29

Apple disclosed through an EU filing that it struck a February 2026 deal for Rabbit 3 Times, the New York startup behind the visual Swift app-building tool Play.
The transaction appears to be an asset purchase rather than a full takeover, with Apple also holding an option to hire certain staff—suggesting an acquihire tied to Swift-related work.
Rabbit 3 Times, founded in 2021, had sold Play as a visual iOS and macOS development tool that let users prototype apps and export projects to Xcode.
April 20 marked the end of support for Play on iPhone and Mac, while the paid Play-to-Xcode export service was made free "to help with the transition" before the company's website went offline.
The deal surfaced because the EU publishes acquisitions reported under the Digital Markets Act at least four months after filing; Apple had given Play an Apple Design Award for Innovation in June 2025.

Sources

Did Apple acquire a popular developer tool primarily to sidestep the EU's strict new digital market rules?

Will Apple revive Play's award-winning visual tools inside its AI-powered Xcode, or is the technology gone for good?

As Apple absorbs a top indie tool, what is the future for independent software creators building for its ecosystem?

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