Skip to main content

iWork for iCloud

Eight 'iWork for iCloud' stories June 2013 - November 2014
See All Stories

iWork for iCloud updated with eight new languages, easier document renaming and more

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 21 2014 - 5:25 am PT
5 Comments
Site default logo image

icloud

Apple has updated its iWork for iCloud web-based productivity suite with eight new languages, the ability to rename documents in the editor and a few minor additional enhancements.

Pages gets all eight new languages: Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish – including bidirectional support for Arabic and Hebrew. Numbers and Keynote get all but Arabic and Hebrew … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Opinion: With all of the new Apple data centers, is it time for iCloud to get serious about storage?

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy May 7 2014 - 7:26 am PT
56 Comments
Site default logo image

icloud

The Apple ecosystem is a large part of why I stick to an all-Apple line-up for my laptops, tablet and phone. iCloud is key to that, of course, providing seamless backup and syncing between devices.

Whether it’s my calendar, contacts, reminders, notes, ebooks or Safari bookmarks, all are available on all devices within a minute or two of me updating any of them. Documents I create in Pages, Numbers or Keynote are again available from any of my devices providing I choose to store them on iCloud. As I pay the extra for iTunes Match, I’m also able to stream any of my music from any device.

In some respects, Apple clearly takes the cloud seriously. It has invested massively in expanding its network of data centers, including a $1B investment in Reno, expansion in Maiden and new data centers as far afield as Hong Kong and the Netherlands. Yet, central as it is to the ecosystem, iCloud still feels a bit like it deserves the tag Steve Jobs famously applied to Apple TV: a hobby …


Expand
Expanding
Close

New iWork & iLife apps go for simplicity, upset power users all over again

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 25 2013 - 9:33 am PT
119 Comments
Site default logo image

Following the introduction of Apple’s new iWork apps at its iPad Air event earlier this week, an increasing number of users have taken to Apple’s support forums to voice concerns over the removal of features as the apps receive new simplified user interfaces that bring them more in line with the iOS versions. Several pages of complaints from users in Apple’s forums point out that many features, those mostly used by power users, have been removed from Apple’s new redesigned version of Pages:

Why does Apple get rid of so many useful features in new pages? iWork 13 has been a huge disappointment and nothing more than a downgrade to match the capabilities of the iOS iWork apps.  If Apple simply made performance upgrades to iWork 09 I would have been happy.  I hope there is a way to get back to the most up to date version of iWork 09.

—

It comes down to this. Apple has discontinued Pages in its entirety. You can no longer download it or purchase it, and Apple won’t support it. Apple has simultaneously introduced a completely new and different product, also called Pages, that is designed for different users and different use cases. Despite the name, it is not a successor to Pages (old), except in the licensing terms, it is completely a completely different species of animal. Those of us who depended on Pages (old) cannot use Pages (new). We have to save all our Pages files in a widely used format and import them into a new word processor that supports the formatting.

Pages isn’t the only app, users are also hitting Apple’s forums to list features that have been removed from the redesigned versions of Keynote, Numbers, and iMovie:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Apple opens iWork for iCloud beta to all users ahead of expected public release this fall

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Aug 23 2013 - 6:11 am PT
6 Comments

Screen+Shot+2013-08-23+at+13.58.42

After first announcing its new iWork for iCloud productivity suite back in June at WWDC, Apple has been slowly rolling out access to more people ahead of a public beta release scheduled for this fall. It first extended the privilege to developers, then Apple employees, and in July started sending out invites to select non-developers. Today, several tips note that Apple now appears to be letting in anyone with an Apple ID despite not sending out invites or officially announcing a public beta. We’ve confirmed access to the beta on a non-developer account, but let us know in the comments if you’re unable to get in.

Following the unveiling of the new iWork for iCloud suite, we speculated that Apple could possibly move to make its other iWork suite of apps on iOS and Mac available for free. Our thinking: it’s hard to imagine Apple allowing users to create documents for free on iCloud but not seamlessly transfer from iOS to Mac without having to throw down $30 for the three iOS apps. Adding even more weight to that theory, Apple was briefly showing the apps listed alongside the collection of free Apple apps that it presents most users with when launching the App Store on their iOS device for the first time.

Apple previously announced it was planning on releasing a public beta for iWork for iCloud this fall but perhaps is opening the beta today to help beta test the apps among a larger group of users ahead of an official announcement. Apple is expected to unveil new iPhones at an event next month on Sept. 10, and there is a possibility we’ll hear more about iWork for iCloud alongside details for Mavericks and possibly the new Mac Pro.

Non-developers receiving iWork for iCloud invites

Avatar for Scott Buscemi Jul 18 2013 - 4:03 pm PT
0 Comments
Site default logo image

photo

While the iWork for iCloud beta has been available for developers and those who logged in with the current beta software for about a month now, it looks like Apple has begun inviting non-developers to the online document editing program. Tipsters have sent us in emails from the company asking them to try out the services and send in feedback.

We’d like to invite you to be one of the first to try it, so we’re giving you early access to the iWork for iCloud beta. All you have to do is sign in to iCloud on a Mac or a PC using the current version of Safari, Chrome or Internet Explorer. Then just click on Pages, Numbers, or Keynote and you’re off.

Users that have received the invitation don’t need to visit beta.icloud.com – they can just use the regular icloud.com address.

Back in June, we posted a video review of iWork for iCloud:
Expand
Expanding
Close

iWork, iLife appear in iOS 7 free downloads screen, corroborates Apple apps going free theory

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jul 9 2013 - 7:12 am PT
0 Comments
Site default logo image

iWork-iOS7-free-apps

We reported previously on the possibility of Apple making its iWork suite, and possibly its other premium content creation apps, available for free alongside iOS 7 and the launch of new iWork for iCloud web apps. It would make a lot of sense given it’s hard to imagine Apple allowing users to create documents for free on iCloud but not seamlessly transfer from iOS to Mac without having to throw down $30 for the three iOS apps. Today we get a little hint from the latest iOS 7 beta that Apple might actually be considering making the apps free this fall (via @nielskorte & iFun).

The screenshot above shows the screen that Apple presents most users with when launching the App Store on their iOS device for the first time. Curiously, on iOS 7 beta 3, the recommended free apps screen includes Apple’s iWork suite in addition to other paid apps such as Garageband, iMovie, and iPhoto. In the past, Apple has only included free apps in the pop up such as iBooks, iTunes U, and Podcasts. This could signal Apple has plans to offer its premium apps for free in the future…


Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple announces iWork for iCloud, new apps for Mac and iOS coming later this year

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jun 10 2013 - 11:10 am PT
0 Comments
Site default logo image

Confirming our earlier suspicions, Apple today showed off some new features for its iWork suite of apps, which includes both Mac and iOS versions of the Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps. While Apple confirmed that new versions of the apps for Mac and iOS would be coming later in the year, it spent its presentation today showing off brand new web versions of the apps designed to run right in the browser through iCloud.com. The new web apps, available initially only to developers starting today, will be dubbed ‘iWork for iCloud’ and bring web apps to iCloud that will compete directly with Google Docs and Google’s other suite of web apps.

Apple execs spent much of the time on stage showing off the new Pages for iCloud app, demoing how users can drag and drop Microsoft Word files and other documents directly into the iCloud.com UI in their browser to begin editing a document. Apple also briefly demoed presentations and spreadsheets running in web versions of the Numbers and Keynote apps.

During the demo of the new iWork for iCloud apps, Apple also made a point of noting that the new apps run in any browser by showing off the apps running on Windows 8.

The new apps are available as developer beta starting today. A public beta of the new iWork for iCloud apps will be arriving later this year. Apple didn’t mention any details regarding pricing, or whether or not the web apps will be a separate purchase from the apps currently available on Mac and iOS.