Apple Updates iWork Apps for Mac and iOS With New Features

[MacRumors]

Apple today updated its iWork suite of apps, introducing new features for Pages, Numbers, and Keynote on both iOS devices and Mac. These are major version 12 updates, but each app has received only a couple of changes, as outlined below.

Keynote

On iOS, Keynote now features an option to enlarge slides to a maximum zoom level of 400 percent, plus there is a new feature for editing font size more precisely with up to two decimal places.

On Mac, the Shortcuts app can be used to create create or open presentations, rehearse a slideshow, or start presenting.

Numbers

On Numbers for iOS, users can now copy a snapshot of table cells without formulas, categories, or hidden values, plus formulas and cells can be filled with autofill using VoiceOver. Numbers also supports editing font size more precisely with up to two decimal places.

On Mac, Shortcuts can be used to create or open spreadsheets and add rows to a table, plus VoiceOver can be used to create formulas and fill cells using autofill.

Pages

Pages for iOS now features an option to publish directly to Apple Books with file sizes up to 2GB, and there is an option to quickly start writing a new document on iPhone by touching and holding the Pages app icon on the Home screen. Comments can be read and changes can be tracked with VoiceOver, and font size can be edited more precisely.

On Mac, Pages has the same VoiceOver support, plus Shortcuts can be used to create and open documents.

The iWork apps for iOS and Mac are available for free from the App Store and Mac App Store.

Article Link: Apple Updates iWork Apps for Mac and iOS With New Features

 

[HappyDude20]

The new Numbers feature is especially awesome.

 

[DHagan4755]

I wonder if the uptake on these apps has increased significantly in a world of Google Drive & Microsoft Office?

 

[lederermc]

The only improvement I would care to see is a solver. I would think with ML on the M1 this would not be rocket science.

 

[AltecX]

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote. I'm actually surprised that they haven't dropped Pages/Numbers yet and just added support for Google docs/office to Keynote.

 

[0924487]

Excel is hard to beat because all the companies and universities use that format and you still can’t import a complex excel file without breaking formulas.

 

[JosephAW]

New version 12 is still compatible with iOS 14.
I had to download an older version for iOS 12.
Hopefully they don’t break compatibility for those of us stuck on High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina.
I thought they only released numerical updates with iOS updates, is that normal for a major update for a previous iOS?

 

[now i see it]

While Numbers app isn’t Excel, it’s probably one of the best apps Apple makes.

 

[JosephAW]

Pages is surprisingly powerful but is not very intuitive, but my only gripe with Pages is that they don’t have horizontal compression of letters but only the spacing between the letters.
I could probably retire my DTP software if they were just added that one feature.

 

[neliason]

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote. I'm actually surprised that they haven't dropped Pages/Numbers yet and just added support for Google docs/office to Keynote.

I use Numbers and Pages. I have never used Keynote. Numbers and Pages do everything I need.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I used to use Numbers here and there, but I can't use it exclusively as the rest of the world is all on Excel and from time to time some complex sheets come across my desk and I need those to function and look perfectly/as intended.

Eventually I just gave up on Numbers, as I alone was the outlier and it was causing more issues than it was solving for me.

 

[PeteBurgh]

I wonder if the uptake on these apps has increased significantly in a world of Google Drive & Microsoft Office?

Excel is hard to beat because all the companies and universities use that format and you still can’t import a complex excel file without breaking formulas.

Although there is obviously overlap in terms of features, I think it is a bit of a misconception that iWork is intended as a competitor to Office or the Google apps. I certainly don't think Apple sees Numbers as trying to usurp Excel.

It seems to me that the iWork apps are more about a) providing a baseline of functionality so that every computer they sell can do common productivity tasks (word processing, domestic budgeting, etc) out of the box; b) providing apps that emphasise different things to the other products. Pages, for instance, doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Word, or collaboration tools of Google Docs, but makes it very easy to produce attractively formatted documents.

 

[PsykX]

The only improvement I would care to see is a solver. I would think with ML on the M1 this would not be rocket science.

Good old times when I used that in Excel.
When I've been introduced to it for the first time in my life, I felt like it was just miraculous.

 

[petvas]

While Numbers app isn’t Excel, it’s probably one of the best apps Apple makes.

I agree. I use it for all my personal and stuff and for my company's documents. For communication with business partners though I use Excel..

 

[EugW]

I just updated these on my iMac 2017 with Monterey, but I'm not seeing the updates on my Mac mini 2014 with Monterey. Any reason the Mac mini is not seeing these updates? Even when I specifically search out Pages for example, the Mac App Store says the latest version is 11.2. OTOH, Numbers is listed as version 12, and the update is showing up, but only if I specifically search for it.

EDIT:

I tried again today, a couple of days later, and now they're all showing up.

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote. I'm actually surprised that they haven't dropped Pages/Numbers yet and just added support for Google docs/office to Keynote.

I use Pages on some of my machines, since my need for word processing in my current job is no longer restricted to Word.

It's nice not having to pay for extra Office licences.

 

[Danfango]

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote. I'm actually surprised that they haven't dropped Pages/Numbers yet and just added support for Google docs/office to Keynote.

I run a small business, personal finances and analytics tools off Pages and Numbers. There are a few of us out there.

 

[anthogag]

Yeah baby. I use Numbers and Pages.

 

[FightTheFuture]

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote.

And that’s why iWork is rarely updated.

 

[headlessmike]

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote. I'm actually surprised that they haven't dropped Pages/Numbers yet and just added support for Google docs/office to Keynote.

The compatibility with Word documents in Pages has been so good for the last couple of years that it's the only app I use when I need a docx-file or for general typing. In my field of work, all serious writing is done in LaTeX anyway.

 

[maxoakland]

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote. I'm actually surprised that they haven't dropped Pages/Numbers yet and just added support for Google docs/office to Keynote.

I use Pages and Numbers and hope they never drop them. But it would be a bad idea if they did. Every platform needs a basic, free, high quality office suite and iWork is one of the best

 

[glenthompson]

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote. I'm actually surprised that they haven't dropped Pages/Numbers yet and just added support for Google docs/office to Keynote.

I didn't until I decided to dump my Office 365 subscription. Had kept using it due to years of experience with Office on Windows. Pages/Numbers has been able to do everything I need. Also never had an issue sharing documents with others.

 

[Mr. Dee]

You gotta give Apple credit for keeping at this, but I’m sure the vast majority still use Microsoft Office. I use it occasionally like for printing envelopes, but manage my budget primarily in Excel because so much easier.

 

[fhall1]

Of course us Catalina users are out of luck.

 

[TheBing1980]

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote. I'm actually surprised that they haven't dropped Pages/Numbers yet and just added support for Google docs/office to Keynote.

I’ve used them almost exclusively for the last 15 years. ?

The collaborative features on Pages/Numbers are amazing.

 

[SidricTheViking]

I've never seen a single person ever use Number or Pages in my 20 years of Mac Support. Only Keynote. I'm actually surprised that they haven't dropped Pages/Numbers yet and just added support for Google docs/office to Keynote.

I use Pages weekly for my own documents. Also, I’ve been using it for over 5 years to proofread/edit Word documents using the Change Tracking feature. I export them as Word documents to the sender afterwards. It’s excellent.

I’ve also been using Keynote (almost exclusively on an iPad) for longer than I can remember. It’s intuitive and (almost) effortless. I even make the occasional GIF in Keynote, just for fun!