Creator Studio: Apple confuses with duplicate apps
Pages, Numbers, and Keynote – as well as Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Co. – now available in multiple versions. Background to Creator Studio App Store chaos.
Multiple Pages Icons: Which app would you like?
(Image: heise medien)
Apple's rollout of its new Creator Studio creative rental package yesterday did not go smoothly. The shift to subscriptions and paid premium features for the iWork programs caused many users to scratch their heads when looking at their program folders. The reason: Apple created two versions of each application – one for rental one for individual purchase or the free version. For Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, there was also the fact that these had different version numbers.
Two apps from one
But let's take it step by step: Apple wants users to subscribe to its professional and office apps as much as possible in the future. Creator Studio costs 12.99 euros per month or 129 euros per year (which, to avoid confusion with old Adobe offers, is best not abbreviated as “CS”). However, alongside the subscription, the applications Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Main Stage, Motion, and Compressor are also available as a one-time purchase. The iWork apps Pages, Keynote, Numbers, and soon Freeform (as soon as premium content is delivered) are also available in two versions: the old version without premium content and the new one with it.
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The difference is recognizable with Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro & Co. by the icon: the subscription versions have a liquid-glass-like appearance, while the one-time purchase versions do not. However, the version number does not differ. With Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, it's different: here you update to version 14.5, while the versions that offer access to the subscription premium content (such as templates and stock images) are version number 15.1. However, only version 14.5 can be found in the App Store. When you open one of the apps, a window immediately appears stating that you should use a “new version of [application]” because the current one is, despite having just updated – “outdated” and “can be deleted.” Clicking on “Open new version” takes you to the App Store to download the respective version 15.1; clicking on “Later” allows version 14.5 to continue to be used.
Downloaded version immediately “outdated”
If you download one of the 15.1 versions, you will have two program packages of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers on your SSD. The difference is recognizable by the icons. Since these are new program packages, various previous settings – such as the list of recently edited files – are not transferred, which is likely to cause further confusion. It also remains unclear whether the 14.5 versions are truly “outdated.” Apart from the lack of access to subscription premium content (and the new icon), the 14.5 versions appear to correspond to the 15.1 versions.
With Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro & Co., everything is a bit different again. Buyers of the paid versions can update as usual and receive the latest features. However, in parallel, all programs are also available with a new icon, as mentioned. These are purely rental versions, so you cannot use them for a one-time payment but must immediately sign up for a trial subscription. It is not possible to bypass this and pay immediately, which might occur in accounting. The trial period is always one month, and three months for new Macs and iPads.
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