“The last version of iWork for Mac – Apple’s answer to Microsoft Office – was released more than four years ago on 6 January 2009,” David Price reports for Macworld UK.Since then the company has introduced versions of the apps for iOS, and added compatibility with iCloud, but apart from that Apple’s office suite has been untouched.”
“Apple hasn’t made any official announcements about iWork ’14 (or whatever it ends up being called), but there are some clues and hints out there, not to mention a whole lot of rumours and speculation,” Price reports. “In fact there is an imminent iWork update that we know about: iWork for iCloud, which Apple has said is coming in the autumn of 2013. And it looks like it’ll be free, too.”
Price reports, “But when will the next desktop version of iWork be released?”
Read more in the full article here.
PLEASE, Apple… don’t go Adobe on us!
Make the Cloud version optional!
… several times – just to be sure.
No … the “Cloud version” will NOT be optional.
What I believe you fear is a version that can ONLY store its documents on the Cloud. That is not what the current Cloud version offers. And, I agree … I would’t want THAT either. I prefer choices. Too few, in iOS.
Apple doesn’t care what you want. You should only be grateful that Apple deems you worthy to purchase its products.
“but there are some clues and hints out there, not to mention a whole lot of rumours and speculation” — And I, David Price, am making up all the rumors and speculation right now… 😛
iWeb? Where are you??
iWeb is totally dead. Never to be released again. 😜
… selling iWeb, and supporting it, but it announced it was on the EOL list.
Which is a bit of a shame, to be sure. The first version made pretty pages. Pretty, but not “efficient”. The second version fixed that. An entry-level-only program, perhaps, but the vanity sites it produced could be sweet. And the price was right.
Totally agree. We used it to make our company website, which literally took two hours to throw together with iWeb.
We are a small company (back then employing 4 staff, plus the two owners) but many of the enquiries we received were from big companies that assumed, from the professional appearance of our website, that we too were a big company which could take on the huge amounts of work they were offering.
iWeb is an excellent program and Apple should resurrect and update it with capabilities to make mobile sites for, you know, iOS devices.
I really don’t understand why Apple dropped the ball on this one because iWeb was one of those best-of-class applications that wiped the floor with the competition (in the WYSIWYG, ‘no raw HTML coding for me’ field anyway). Desktop computers may be slowly fading in relevance, but the web will always be omnipresent.
I’ve looked at alternatives to iWeb but they are all pigs to use in comparison.
I like it. Need a Pro Version! I’ve sent enough feedback to Apple..they won’t listen to me for some reason. 😉
i would love to see iWeb brought back.
I also need iWeb…. and a couple of friends to. There are similar apps but nothing works right like iWeb…
Wow this sounds trustworthy…….. Btw I have a bridge for sale, good condition and priced to move.
I wondered if they would be coming out with a desktop version of iWork since it has been so long, and the only news that we’ve heard is about the iCloud beta version of the apps.
Great article!
WWDC keynote when they introduced and demoed iWork for iCloud. He clearly stated that a desktop version would also be coming in the fall.
I’m still pining for an iWork version with a database app built-in.
Adding a database to iWork seems like a no-brainer to me, since Filemaker, Inc. is a subsidiary of Apple. Back in the 90’s, it made sense to me that FileMaker was separated from Apple, so there wasn’t confusion on whether FileMaker was a cross-platform product with Windows compatibility. (I’m guessing at this. I’m not exactly sure why FileMaker is a seperate entity. It just felt that way back in the 90’s when Microsoft and IBM were dominant in businesses mindshare.)
Things feel different now… perhaps Apple is planning on finally making a cross-platform iWork? Wouldn’t that be something… lol! Since Windows 8 has been thwarted upon the PC users, it seems like a viable game card for Apple to at least consider playing. Maybe the web-based version will be Apple’s version of Windows cross-compatibility.
With iOS penetrating the business market so successfully, the timing seems appropriate for aggressiveness in business apps.
TL;DR: Filemaker should be in iWork.
Well without the web collaboration from the past, iWork will stay relegated to the sidelines. Bring that back and Apple may have a chance at getting into the business world and help get a footing with iWork there.
The demise of Bento suggests that iFile will be included.
I SINCERELY hope you’re right. There’s a substantial market of very small businesses (2-9 employees) that need basic database functionality WITHOUT having to hire a Filemaker programmer for development and maintenance. Catering to these users would lead to A LOT of Mac sales. The database product needs to be EASY for non-technical creatives and others and–ideally–offer a web-based front-end service. Bento had grown into some of that (minus the web), but it could be a stronger product and should be integrated with iWork.
I posted that observation the day that it was announced that Bento would no longer be sold.
Bento is a perfect fit with an updated iWork suite. It would make sense to repurpose Bento for iWork. Withdrawing it from sale could be part of that process as a way of minimising bad feelings from those who might have bought Bento the day before it gets bundled with iWork.
Opening Mac Pages files results in an unsightly mess. The message is that “many features are not supported in the web version,” and it turns out that it includes fonts. If you use anything other than vanilla fonts, the web version is a total waste of time. Same with the iPad version. Fonts made the Mac, and ignoring them is a dangerous move.
Same with Windows Excel POS stuff. Numbers just fails all out with it.
… mean by “an unsightly mess”. I opened Pages, and an iCloud document, to see if I could duplicate your error and made some changes. Saved and closed my file (having added several “unusual” typefaces) then re-opened it. No burps or complaints. Should I have been certain to use a third-party font?
Here’s an idea: If they aren’t going to update and rename it every year, maybe don’t put a freaking YEAR in the name of the app going forward.
iWeb again pls!!!
… iWeb. iWeb was originally part of iLife, not iWork. THAT said, why not? iLife was aimed at consumers while iWork was aimed at … lets just say “the SOHO crowd”. iWeb was not intended for SOHO use – that’s where RapidWeaver lives. Could an upgrade of iWeb fit into THAT slot? Along with iCloud web hosting?
I’ve been waiting for a robust version of Numbers for years. But it ain’t gong to happen, I’m sure. Apple isn’t going to challenge Microsoft in hether desktop software space for fear Microsoft will stop developing products for the Mac.