iWork: Apple forces the use of Creator Studio versions
Apple wants users to use the subscription variants of its Office apps. The purely free versions have disappeared from the App Store.
Creator Studio Icons.
(Image: Apple)
Apple is cleaning up the App Store: For macOS, the standard versions of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, maintained for many years, will no longer be offered. Apple has withdrawn the components of its iWork office suite, offering only the new variants that the company introduced as part of Creator Studio in the spring. The range of functions should not change, but the creative subscription is aggressively advertised in the apps.
Notification on every program launch
That Apple does not want older versions of its iWork products to be used further on the Mac was already indicated: Although there were recently updates for these, every time Pages, Numbers, or Keynote was opened, there was a notification that the version was “outdated” and that one should “use a new version.”
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The new version, which (confusingly for many users) comes with a new icon and a new internal designation, is the one that belongs to the Creator Studio subscription package. If you pay 12.99 euros per month or 129 euros per year, you get various additional functions such as new templates and AI capabilities, although the latter are quite limited. Apple emphasizes that no existing functions have been removed. However, it is conceivable that at least parts of new features will disappear behind a paywall in the future. The iWork products were completely free for years as long as a new Apple device was purchased. They then become part of the respective Apple account and are updated via the App Store.
Final Cut Pro & Co. remain double
With this change, Apple is making the iWork topic a bit clearer by offering only one app at a time. However, the applications without Creator Studio are not deleted but remain on the SSD. However, there are apparently no more updates for them.
The topic of “one app, two programs” also affects other parts of Creator Studio: for example, Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Pixelmator Pro. However, Apple cannot remove these because the “old” versions are purely purchase programs. Apple continues to offer these alongside its subscription package. Whether this will change at some point is unclear, but it is possible that Apple will also move towards subscriptions here. The iPad versions of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are only available by subscription.
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