Apple Makes iMovie, GarageBand, and iWork Apps for Mac and iOS Free for All Users

[beartjie]

At last... Just hope I do not need an Apple ID and Password on new systems I deploy for clients. Or else it is just another pain in my rear area.

 

[Osty]

I agree that Pages, and especially Keynotes are in a way better than Office, even the 2016 version. I like the layout, the speed, performance and overall experience of the two processors mentioned before. While my Office 2016 crashes regularly, sometimes it would lag when I scroll across the document and so on and so forth.

I still use Pages to make my resume, write a recommendation letter or simple essay. All non-work stuff. And it was a joy to use. Not to mention Keynote, it is one of a heck of a presentation processor.

However, it is a no-brainer to use Word in the real world usage (i.e. for work) as, at least, in my line of the job the ability to compare docs and track changes feature of Word 2016 (or any part of the "review" tab) is significantly better than Pages. In Pages, for instance, I will not be able to have track changes if it is inside a table, only those that are in the body of the documents. The lack of these features made Pages unusable for my work purposes.

Additionally, I work in a law firm, and as far as I know, no other similar business use Pages for their work. Every collaboration documents are in either ".doc" or ".docx". Thus for the majority, if not all, in my professional line of work, Pages is not a viable tool to use.

I agree, mate. What it boils down to is right tools for the job, which I alluded to in my post. Word is a swiss-army knife; it can do most things for most people, but I think it's come at a cost (monetary, technical, complexity, sanity!). My beef with Word is that 20 years of professional use, I've seen more damage done than good particularly by clueless users that can't even apply a paragraph style.

I too doubt that anyone uses Pages for business use, particularly if they have to collaborate with others. Where Pages gelled with me in the past it was either for simple stuff like my resume or for page layout, at which Pages 09 was surprising good.

Professionally, I use Git for change tracking (and collaboration) and Meld (GUI) or Diff (CLI) for comparing versions. Coupled with Python's text processing abilities and I've created a very sophisticated and powerful automated technical writing, editing and publishing workflow.

As I said, right tool for the job!

 

[Rob_2811]

Does anybody actually use this stuff? Is this part of their double down on Pro users

 

[Osty]

Does anybody actually use this stuff? Is this part of their double down on Pro users

We've covered this ground already.

 

[topperdog]

We've covered this ground already.

Sierra only. Somewhat blows. I will keep using Office since it will work on my OS El Capitan. This is a Sierra push.

 

[James121]

Apple today updated several of its Mac and iOS apps, making them available for all Mac and iOS users for free.

iMovie, Numbers, Keynote, Pages, and GarageBand for both Mac and iOS devices have been updated and are now listed in the App Store for free.

Previously, all of these apps were provided for free to customers who purchased a new Mac or iOS device, but now that purchase is not required to get the software. Many Apple customers were already likely eligible to download the software at no cost if they had made a device purchase in the last few years.

Apple's iWork page has not yet been updated and continues to say that customers will only be able to download Pages, Keynote, and Numbers after purchasing an eligible Mac or iOS device, but new wording may be added shortly following the price drop. Apple's apps have also been removed from the Top Free app charts in the App Store.

Apple has been offering these apps for free to new Mac and iOS device owners since 2013, but dropping the price to free for all users makes it less confusing and opens up downloads for those who have not recently made a new device purchase.

- Pages for macOS [Direct Link]
- Keynote for macOS [Direct Link]
- Numbers for macOS [Direct Link]
- GarageBand for macOS - [Direct Link]
- iMovie for macOS - [Direct Link]

- Pages for iOS - [Direct Link]
- Keynote for iOS - [Direct Link]
- Numbers for iOS - [Direct Link]
- GarageBand for iOS - [Direct Link]
- iMovie for iOS - [Direct Link]

Update: According to a support document, today's app changes will make it easier for business and educational institutions to download Pages, Numbers, Keynote, GarageBand, and iMovie through the Volume Purchase Program store.

Article Link: Apple Makes iMovie, GarageBand, and iWork Apps for Mac and iOS Free for All Users

[doublepost=1501911971][/doublepost]When I go to download this from the Mac App Store on my own mac it says I need to pay for it even though it says "Get" on it and no price. After I give it my payment details, it says my payment or something was declined, reinforcing my thoughts that it does want me to pay for it.

 

[Bacillus]

Abandonware. Half-baken commitment for Prof. grade applications.

 

[phillytim]

Abandonware. Half-baken commitment for Prof. grade applications.

I think it's a bit early to call it that, especially since Apple has been updating it every so often.

 

[Bacillus]

I think it's a bit early to call it that, especially since Apple has been updating it every so often.

Yes a lot of single-sided focus on their Cloud and little features that could possibly make it an Ofice contender. Which it is't and by the lack of cirection won't be in the near future.

 

[Ebenezum]

Given how little improvements Apple has made in iWork software after they became free I agree with Bacillus, its seems unlikely Apple has any motivation to add any significant features to them...