iLife, iWork and OS X Updates Will Continue to Be Free in the Future

[BJMRamage]

it's FREE because Apple can (they have the money)
it's FREE because it gets some people excited about a new device/computer
it's FREE because people that purchased prior feel like they are getting a great thing.
it's FREE because it gets more people used to going to the MAS and possibly buying more software.

but i will say THANK YOU anyway.

 

[djtech42]

I hope that the software quality will remain the same it did when we had to pay for it. It just makes me nervous that Apple might be focusing less on software and mostly on hardware. They should focus on both equally. I'm a big software guy so I hope they continue to make great software.

 

[KPOM]

Apple's choice to offer Mavericks and its suite of iWork/iLife apps for free will contribute to a $900 million increase in deferred net revenue in the December quarter. Apple defers recognizing small amounts of revenue on Macs and iOS devices to comply with obscure account regulations over feature updates to purchased hardware. Deferrals will be recorded over two years for iOS devices and over four years for Macs.

Nice! So Apple has basically said Macs will get 4 years worth of updates.

 

[curmudgeon32]

I'd rather pay for a better version of iWork that hasn't been dumbed down to iOS level.

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If you are afraid that Apple is going to lower the quality by offering for free you have other paid alternatives like MS office. Guess what, pro users are not limited to Apple software.

Thanks for your insight, but Office is bloated crap and has been for a long time — everyone knows that. I can't speak as much to Numbers or Pages, but I've used Keynote extensively at a professional level and there is (or was) nothing remotely close. Keynote 09 is as professional-level a presentation tool as there was out there — and now it's been dumbed down, features have been tossed, the interface is less flexible and less powerful. So Apple took a very good product and basically gutted it to make it equivalent to the crappy iOS version.

 

[bbyrdhouse]

I'd rather pay for a better version of iWork that hasn't been dumbed down to iOS level.

Agree 100%

Thanks for your insight, but Office is bloated crap and has been for a long time — everyone knows that. I can't speak as much to Numbers or Pages, but I've used Keynote extensively at a professional level and there is (or was) nothing remotely close. Keynote 09 is as professional-level a presentation tool as there was out there — and now it's been dumbed down, features have been tossed, the interface is less flexible and less powerful. So Apple took a very good product and basically gutted it to make it equivalent to the crappy iOS version.

What they did to Keynote they did to Pages and Numbers ... only worse!

 

[9000]

Not necessarily a good sign for the company, but I think it's the right decision. Gotta promote your stuff.

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I'd rather pay for a better version of iWork that hasn't been dumbed down to iOS level.

Sticking with iWork '09 until they fix that junk.

 

[ChrisA]

The reason they give to offering iWork free is a load of BS. Atully they look at what they were about to release and saw it them selves that this was really a "downgrade" and were embarrassed to ask money for it.

Then they looks at Maverics, nice as it is and said "What will an end user see in this?" and came back with "not much, nothing they'd notice if we did not point it out for them." So they figured no one would pay for it.

iLife was a little better but they asked "who MAKES stuff?" Noone, lots of people watch movies, play games and so on. only a few people can even read music so who uses GarageBand? Can't charge for that?

On the other hand if Pages and Numbers were rely great products, better then MS Office Apple would charge accordingly.

 

[SusanK]

Free because Apple knows what the product is worth.

 

[filman408]

That's what I have, but the MAS still wants to charge me for the updates. No workarounds that I can find make any difference.

From Apple...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5975

 

[robanga]

They really are great apps. Perfect no, but we use them in our business every single day.

Just think what something of this capability cost ten years ago...Boggles the mind.

 

[Mainsail]

Prediction: 1 year from now these free software offerings will be viewed as an inspired move by Apple.

The old model of selling shrink wrapped software is dead. More and more content is being pushed to the cloud where the software is free. Apple is not competing with Microsoft. They are competing with Google, which basically offers free productivity software and operating system.

Apple originally built an ecosystem around content...music, videos, books, etc. Now, in the post PC era, people's computing hub has moved from their local desktop to the cloud. Apple anticipated this by jump starting their development of mobile devices. So, they need to support this cloud model, which they helped create, with a cross plat-form free software ecosystem. if they don't, Google will eat their lunch.

I realize this change is difficult for long time users of iWorks, and that's a bummer. In the meantime, your current version of iWorks 09 remains on the desktop. In the long run, you will benefit from additional features easily added via MAS plus cross platform compatibility.

I know this sounds Pollyanna, but I stand by my prediction

 

[tmroper]

This is definitely in response to, and will compete with, Google Docs (as others have mentioned). But there is also a Goggle Docs for Business, which they charge for. I've never used it and don't know anything about it, but I'm assuming Apple will be offering some kind of pay model for businesses at some point, too. "Enterprise" might be stretching it, but something like that.

 

[IJ Reilly]

From Apple...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5975

The Apple PR didn't set these requirements, and some are getting the free upgrades with earlier versions.

 

[Naaaaak]

Wow, if you are that upset over a possible 10.10, how do you feel about Java 1.7 being called "Java 7"???

I think that version convention is really really stupid, but that fits in perfectly with Java. That's because I feel Java is horrible for any serious development. That Java is an enterprise and academia toy because of the ******, unpolished result all Java apps end up being. That anything Java will have an experience that will always suck on OS X (be it poor performance or UI toolkit that is 8 generations behind). And that Java is a shameful, horrible choice to consider for anything.

So yeah, Java 1.7 calling itself "version 7" is as dumb as the rest of it. It's a tactic that's trying to seek as much relevance as Firefox is today by having every monthly patch bump the major version number.

 

[vmachiel]

Wish it was really free. Owners of iLife apps before '11 are still being charged for upgrades, a week after this was supposed to have been fixed.

I live in Holland, so my system language is Dutch. I had the same problem, till someone told me to change it to english and.. The updates appeared. Then I changed back and all was well.

Is your system language not english? Try changing it anyway it worked for me somehow

 

[AnonMac50]

Overall, a Mac is cheaper than a Windows machine. If you own a Windows machine for 4 to 5 years then you are likely to upgrade Windows 2 to 3 times. Those upgrade can run $100 each. On top of that, Microsoft is going to ding you for Office 365 at $100 per year. On top of that, you get more in the way of technical support from Apple especially in-person help with Genius Bar appointments at their stores being free. Then you have to think at how much time you will save if you go all-in on the Apple ecosystem with things just working together.

I'm not saying that Microsoft is offering a bad price for their services and software, just that the "expensive" part of Apple is up-front. The "expensive" part of Microsoft is the nickel and dime costs that occur later.

Apple and Microsoft are the only two vendors offering the complete package right now from living room to your desktop to your tablet to your mobile phone (assuming you count third-party PC's with Windows on them which are not really Microsoft). Google's Chrome OS has yet to prove it can fill that gap. Google has a TV solution similar to Apple's while XBOX One is arguably a better solution than either Apple's or Google's TV solution.

Windows only comes out once every 3-4 years anyway. And most Windows users tend not to upgrade anyway. The Microsoft generally supports their OS's longer than Apple.

 

[JackieTreehorn]

Wish it was really free. Owners of iLife apps before '11 are still being charged for upgrades, a week after this was supposed to have been fixed.

No, they aren't.

 

[macs4nw]

…..Sorry for the long explanation, but it felt good to finally get to contribute something from my profession!

To the contrary, thank you for that explanation! I had a basic understanding of it --it came up before, with iPhones being bought on contract-- but, as the saying goes, I didn't understand it well enough to explain it to my grandmother.

 

[ValSalva]

This is definitely in response to, and will compete with, Google Docs (as others have mentioned). But there is also a Goggle Docs for Business, which they charge for. I've never used it and don't know anything about it, but I'm assuming Apple will be offering some kind of pay model for businesses at some point, too. "Enterprise" might be stretching it, but something like that.

I'm not so sure. Apple does charge for more iCloud storage though. With this step backwards for iOS parity in iWork it seems more like they are targeting consumers and not the enterprise. Things could change if iWork gets more traction in years to come.

I wish Apple had announced more free storage for iCloud. 5GB just isn't enough for a lot of people.

 

[Giuly]

Is this really a good thing?

What right do you have to complain about anything now? Less then you did before, because now everything is free. Removed features in iWork? Hey, it's free now. Buggy GM release for OS X? Hey, it didn't cost you anything.

This just seems like it's going to open the flood gates for even more of the same rubbish we've been subjected to recently, but now Apple can point at you and say "It's free, what more do you want?".

-SC

If what you care about is to make the best computer/smartphone/tablet/productivity suite/operating system/whatever-iLife-is on the planet, then it's secondary whether it's free or not.

 

[PaloSuda]

a bit confused

Despite running on Mavericks, Apple charged me full price for upgrades of Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iPhoto and iMovie (some 82 euros). I have had installed box versions of iWork 09 and iLife 11. Now I am in dialog with Apple's technical support for a fifth day. will see if the company - that declared guaranty of free upgrades - meet the promise.

 

[atrevers]

Is this really a good thing?

What right do you have to complain about anything now? Less then you did before, because now everything is free. Removed features in iWork? Hey, it's free now. Buggy GM release for OS X? Hey, it didn't cost you anything.

This just seems like it's going to open the flood gates for even more of the same rubbish we've been subjected to recently, but now Apple can point at you and say "It's free, what more do you want?".

-SC

There's another way to look at this - you still have right to complain because a) they're providing you with a service, whether you've paid for it or not (and you're still bound by their terms and conditions, which in my opinion gives you a right to have an opinion on the service); and b) technically nobody gets this software without paying anything for it as part of the payment made for the Mac as a good covers the software portion - and you can't get the software for free (legitimately) without buying a Mac.

 

[josh.b]

I'd rather pay for a better version of iWork that hasn't been dumbed down to iOS level.

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Thanks for your insight, but Office is bloated crap and has been for a long time — everyone knows that. I can't speak as much to Numbers or Pages, but I've used Keynote extensively at a professional level and there is (or was) nothing remotely close. Keynote 09 is as professional-level a presentation tool as there was out there — and now it's been dumbed down, features have been tossed, the interface is less flexible and less powerful. So Apple took a very good product and basically gutted it to make it equivalent to the crappy iOS version.

I see, yeh that isn't so good. At least you have the option to keep what you had until they fix it (like they did with FCPX). By sticking with the old version you are still in front of MS office right?

 

[osx11]

I hope that the software quality will remain the same it did when we had to pay for it. It just makes me nervous that Apple might be focusing less on software and mostly on hardware. They should focus on both equally. I'm a big software guy so I hope they continue to make great software.

I'm sure their focus is on hardware and software equally, but I think it's quite obvious that Apple is becoming increasingly consumer oriented.

The enterprise/professional world is not Apple's target group in terms of software, but it wants them to use their hardware.

So I think in the professional market they are becoming more focused on hardware, leaving the software for other companies.

But if you look at where Apple's revenue comes from, it should be clear where it's focus is at. iOS and a little bit of Macs.

 

[I WAS the one]

I remember Apple was a all-in-one machine when they start the Macintosh revolution. My first Mac was ready to be used outta the box. Apple still owns that idea. The fact that from now on all Apple software will be free is very good for general users. Pro Apps should be priced as it is now. that will make a real difference when you decide to buy a computer. Bloatware VS productive-wear.