Apple Offering 'Free' Updates to All Owners of Aperture, iWork, and iLife; Not Worried About Unethical Users

[ATC]

Aperture

Got home tonight and there was an update waiting in the MAS for Aperture but when I clicked Update it would error (can't recall the exact error now). Anyhow, instead of Update just Aperture I clicked on Update All (above it) and it then proceeded to download the whole app (~557MB).

Still wasn't showing up under Purchases. Then, out of no where and on its own it started downloading the whole app again, only this time it showed up as downloading in the Purchases tab.

It's now showing up under my Purchases. Pretty cool of Apple to do this but, for me at least, it was kind of a cumbersome process.

 

[haruhiko]

Got all the iWork and iLife apps updated on my rMBP except GarageBand. Somehow the new version was released as a completely new app, and my purchased section only shows "GarageBand 6.0.5" without the new version.

I downloaded the new one for free anyway but was prompted to buy an IAP $4.99 for additional sounds. Are previous owners of GarageBand entitled to get the IAP free? Or all of us have to pay for that? Thanks.

 

[JackieInCo]

I still can't upgrade any of these apps.

 

[grigio60]

OK. I'm a legal owner of the previous iPhoto 9.0, legally purchased via appStore. When I upgraded to Mavericks, I wasn't unable to upgrade to the new release, neither via the "Search for updates" menu nor via the AppStore. So, I bought (paying) the new release, this before this decision by Apple for free upgrades.

So, now it appears I payed for something I could have had for free, just because.... i did it too fast!

Now, wouldn't be fair if Apple, for situations such as mine, would redeem itself, at least allowing to download for free from AppStore some apps for an equivalent amount?

 

[yesnek]

Doesn't that work with preinstalled Versions of iLife as well? Not seeing any Updates on my
Early-2011-Machine.

 

[nebo1ss]

I also have ILife 09 on CD and installed on my machine but do not see the upgrade. I saw a post where someone suggested re-installing Ilife and I did this but still no upgrade shown in the App store.

It also does not say under purchases that I own Ilife. This could well be the problem.

 

[haruhiko]

OK. I'm a legal owner of the previous iPhoto 9.0, legally purchased via appStore. When I upgraded to Mavericks, I wasn't unable to upgrade to the new release, neither via the "Search for updates" menu nor via the AppStore. So, I bought (paying) the new release, this before this decision by Apple for free upgrades.

So, now it appears I payed for something I could have had for free, just because.... i did it too fast!

Now, wouldn't be fair if Apple, for situations such as mine, would redeem itself, at least allowing to download for free from AppStore some apps for an equivalent amount?

You ask them to refund instead of "offering another app for free".

For most cases changing the system language to English will show the updates.

 

[otakuon]

Yeap....I was (pleasantly) surprised when I fired up the MacApp store after installing Mavericks to update the iLife apps and found that my trial versions of iWork apps were also being upgraded and converted to full paid versions gratis. That being said, I am still 100% a MS office user, but it was a nice gesture none the less.

 

[Torrijos]

It's not working for me. I am getting the message "This update is for an app downloaded with a different Apple ID. Sign in with that Apple ID and try again." Anyone else?

Still the same here, on the 25th oct. 2013.

I tried :
- Login in another admin account
- Reinstalling from scratch (DVD), after erasing all traces of iWork

 

[ConnYoungy]

Final Cut X next please

 

[Xytal]

Here’s what I had as of yesterday on Mac Pro early 2009. ALL of these upgraded for free (see note in last paragraph!).

Interestingly when I logged in to the App Store, they all had prices on them between $10 and $20 (except GarageBand said “Free” by the time I got around to upgrading the others). I boldly clicked on “Buy” since I was going to pay for Pages and Keynote anyway. The App Store app crunched for a couple of seconds and said that I already have those installed and did I want to upgrade - I said “Yes” and it asked for the AppleID and password again and installed it! Same with the others except GarageBand as I mentioned above. They are all showing up under “Purchased” items. The iWork apps installed in the Applications folder and left the previous versions in iWork ’08 folder (under Applications). The really old pages documents don’t open in the new version, but do open in the old version. So if you are worried about overwriting, create a folder and COPY (additional copy) under there before upgrading.

[All copyrights are Apple’s]
iWork 08
Pages 3.0.3 (Copyright 2007)
Numbers 1.0.3 (Copyright 2007)
Keynote 4.0.4 (Copyright 2007)

iPhoto 8.1.2 (Copyright 2002-2010)

iMovie 8.0.6 (Copyright 2007-2010)

GarageBand 5.1 ( Copyright 2009)

[I already have Aperture 3.x purchased, so I upgraded to 3.5 yesterday for free.]

Nothing above gives the impression I’ll get a bill from Apple on my AppleID account, since the question was “Do you want to upgrade, even though these were not purchased from App Store?” (or something along those lines). I will follow up in a couple of days if I do get a bill!

(Ignore old OS version in signature ... I have Mavericks).

Mine is different. Says I have "iPhoto 8.x.x installed and not purchased through the App Store." And "would you like to buy iPhoto 9.5?" With a buy and cancel button.

I'm nevous to click buy. I haven't seen any updates yet and tried the account trick and the log out of the MAS trick. I'm wondering if I'll need to either call apple or just cut my losses.

I think what's annoying is there are people who's got updates for iLife 2009. ><

 

[just1ed]

Just to clear up omething, Apple's only offering these apps free download from the Mac App Store, with NEW Mac or iOS device....

Correct??

As this would be why I can only get GarageBand for free, but not keynote, Pages, or Numers on my Mid-2012 macbook Pro.

No. Anyone can. So long you have the older software installed on your computer.

----------

OK. I'm a legal owner of the previous iPhoto 9.0, legally purchased via appStore. When I upgraded to Mavericks, I wasn't unable to upgrade to the new release, neither via the "Search for updates" menu nor via the AppStore. So, I bought (paying) the new release, this before this decision by Apple for free upgrades.

So, now it appears I payed for something I could have had for free, just because.... i did it too fast!

Now, wouldn't be fair if Apple, for situations such as mine, would redeem itself, at least allowing to download for free from AppStore some apps for an equivalent amount?

The upgrades were free. They just didn't announce it officially. It wasn't a decision made later, it just took time for the App Store to roll it out. You were supposed to pay for the upgrades anyway, if you didn't buy a new mac.

----------

Still the same here, on the 25th oct. 2013.

I tried :
- Login in another admin account
- Reinstalling from scratch (DVD), after erasing all traces of iWork

If your iWork is not a app store version, and is from a retail DVD, not an app store version downloaded by others, it should work. If it is an app store version not downloaded by your id, you have to restart after erasing all traces of it (library/application support, preferences etc).

I restarted, reinstalled and it downloaded from App Store.

 

[Hue Manatee]

iWork and Aperture Trial Downloads

All torrents appear to be hammered, so I've created a Tumblr with download links. The Aperture link is actually from the Apple servers!

iWork and Aperture trials available on my blog at iworktrials.tumblr.com

They all worked and upgraded for me, others reporting them all as working too.


- Hue Manatee

 

[just1ed]

All torrents appear to be hammered, so I've created a Tumblr with download links. The Aperture link is actually from the Apple servers!

iWork and Aperture trials available on my blog at iworktrials.tumblr.com

They all worked and upgraded for me, others reporting them all as working too.


- Hue Manatee

Not to encourage piracy but this should be a sticky. Helps those who purchased original DVD versions but have problems to update.

Although it is funny that trial versions get updated but originals don't.

 

[just1ed]

I googled casually and this link came up. Full version of iLife11.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxBv4YtS92XIblh1a0x4alYtZU0/edit?usp=drive_web

 

[wikiverse]

If we're to believe Microsoft, all these "efforts" are because Apple's software cannot be taken seriously. It doesn't allow people to be productive, and is priced as such.

Yet the last time I checked, Microsoft didn't even produce a DAW like Garageband. Lol...

Way to twist Frank Shaw's comments out of context.

His comments about productivity were specifically about using iWork on an iPad vs. using Office on a Surface. There is no comparison. The Surface wins hands down.


Here's what he said:

"That’s what Surface is. A single, simple, affordable device that helps you both lean in and kick back. Let’s be clear – helping folks kill time on a tablet is relatively easy. Give them books, music, videos and games, and they’ll figure out the rest. Pretty much all tablets do that.

But helping people be productive on a tablet is a little trickier. It takes an understanding of how people actually work, how they get things done, and how to best support the way they do things already.

The good news is that Microsoft understands how people work better than anyone else on the planet."

That's why Windows has a 95% market share and why Microsoft Office is the gold standard for office software. It caters to everyone from home users to multi billion dollar companies. Pages and especially Numbers do not come close to offering the features required for business use.

Personally I've been using Pages for years because most of my documents are picture heavy, exported to PDF. For me it's not a competitor to Word, but cheap and easy version of Adobe's in-design. I also use Keynote over Powerpoint - solely because of Quicktime integration.

But what Frank Shaw said is 100% correct. Trying to be productive on an iPad with word processing, spreadsheets or creating presentations doesn't even come close to the capabilities of the Surface Pro running Office.

I'm not about to run out and buy one, but that doesn't make him wrong.

 

[purehektik]

2 years ago,I switched to Apple with all my devices. Since then, I spent more money on buying Software than I did the last 20 years in the MS world. I did this with pleasure and because of it being an easy move to get the apps. AND that I can use 1 purchase on all of my devices simultaniously. Let's say, I LIKE to pay for software now. And I didnt under MS Win...

 

[Marbles1]

Agree with previous poster - we need to get some perspective here.


In terms of production,

I've used an iPad to draw up 'quick' diagrams in OmniGraffle, or sometimes to allow clents to play and move around process flow diagrams. It's a bit of a gimmick but it looks 'cool' and helps to engage people.

I also use iPad for quick emails, maybe to print an attachment using AirPrint etc.

If i'm at a conference i'll bring the iPad, as its battery life is epic, and for taking short notes in whilst checking twitter etc. it's second to none. (although some split screen abilities to show two apps would be a boon).

Really where it excels is in consumption though. I can't program on it as well as i can using a laptop. I can't get open source IDEs e.g. Eclipse, I can't download various tools and quickly manipulate data. It's just not that kind of machine.

 

[haravikk]

Damn. A+ for Apple!

Completely agree, this is a great stance to take as fighting piracy is generally a bigger waste of time than just focusing on producing desirable, affordable apps, which a free upgrade definitely isn't going to be beaten on anytime soon.

I've never had a problem with Apple's prices for iWork, but this is great news all the same. I just hope the detection has been improved as I've had issues with the Mac App Store not recognising my iWork '09 DVD installation.

But yeah, it's a great move by Apple, I love having the iWork suite available.

 

[abc123]

I had iwork '08 from long ago backed up on a hard drive but it didn't work. I guess it needed to be the '09 version? Not a huge loss as I wasn't the biggest fan of the '08 version but it would have been pretty cool to check out.

 

[macs4nw]

Allowing unethically obtained software intentionally downloaded from users is a bit extreme.

I think what they're trying to say is, "we'd rather have a few freeloaders get updates they're not entitled to, than denying even one legitimate user those updates. This may very well be more cost-effective for Apple, than trying to ensure in each and every case that the up-graders are all legit.

Not to mention that this move will generate a ton of goodwill.

 

[Swiss-G]

Hi there,

Seemed to have a couple of issues updating. Did anyone else see this happen?

1. Legitimate purchased iWork '09. I was able to update Pages, Keynote, Numbers but this process does not remove the old apps in 'iWork 09' folder under Applications. Is this normal?
2. New iWork apps don't show up under 'Purchased'.
3. I had Garageband, but it showed up as 'Free' on MAS, not 'Update'. When I did install it, MAS installed in in a folder called 'Garageband 6.0.5'. Is that normal?

Thx

1. Yes it's normal.
2. Try logging out and logging back in to the MAS. You can also check recent purchases under My Account in iTunes.
3. Yes it's normal.

----------

Got all the iWork and iLife apps updated on my rMBP except GarageBand. Somehow the new version was released as a completely new app, and my purchased section only shows "GarageBand 6.0.5" without the new version.

I downloaded the new one for free anyway but was prompted to buy an IAP $4.99 for additional sounds. Are previous owners of GarageBand entitled to get the IAP free? Or all of us have to pay for that? Thanks.

You have to pay for the In-App purchase for the additional content. It includes all the drummers for the new drummer feature which is worth the IAP price alone.

 

[sj27]

...That's why Windows has a 95% market share and why Microsoft Office is the gold standard for office software. It caters to everyone from home users to multi billion dollar companies. Pages and especially Numbers do not come close to offering the features required for business use.

Personally I've been using Pages for years because most of my documents are picture heavy, exported to PDF. For me it's not a competitor to Word, but cheap and easy version of Adobe's in-design. I also use Keynote over Powerpoint - solely because of Quicktime integration.

But what Frank Shaw said is 100% correct. Trying to be productive on an iPad with word processing, spreadsheets or creating presentations doesn't even come close to the capabilities of the Surface Pro running Office...

At least one of those tech type analyst speculated that this very asset, desktop-like productivity, is exactly what has hurt the Surface. According to the argument, people buying tablets are looking to break away from the complexities and work-related reminders of their desktops; they want something fun and simple.

I have no idea if this argument has any merit, but I can see it possibly being one of the reasons undermining Microsoft's tablet sales. In any event, I have MS Office, I do not have any major issues with it, but I also wouldn't want to do any extensive research and writing work or PowerPoint presentations on any tablet; I like a bit more screen size. So in regards to productivity, a MacBook Air provides a lightweight alternative more inline with my preferences.

In any case, for whatever purpose, I have no desire to pick up a tablet. But for folks who want a tablet and still want some word processing capabilities or the ability to create a simple database, iWork should be more than sufficient.

 

[Michael Goff]

A company whose main revenue doesn't come from software doesn't care about their software being stolen? It's almost like they want people to get hooked to the ecosystem so they'll buy some high-margin hardware.

Note that I didn't say overpriced. Apple is only selling one overpriced thing right now in my opinion.

 

[eecyclone]

Updated my iWork apps and Aperture last night. I will have to try again for iLife.

Also, I only had iWork installed on 1 computer at home (out of 3 macs). Will my Mac app store account show the iWork suite as "purchased" so I can install it on my other computers? Or do I need to install iWork '09 on those with the disc and then update them to the new versions?