Apple Discontinues Free Trials of Aperture and iWork

As noted by MacStories, Apple has discontinued its free trials of Aperture and iWork, directing users to the Mac App Store where the apps are available for purchase.

The discontinuation of the Aperture trial is not particularly recent, as discussion forum reports indicate that it has been missing for at least a month, but the removal has gone mostly unnoticed. It is not entirely clear when the iWork trial was taken down from Apple's U.S. site, but it appears to still be available from some international sites such as the UK site. Other international sites also suggest that the iWork trial is still available, but attempts to download the app simply lead to the Mac App Store.

iwork trial discontinued
Since the launch of the Mac App Store in January 2011, Apple has moved all of its major software products to the marketplace, which does not support free trials. The company advises Mac App Store developers wishing to offer free trials of their software to host the downloads on their own sites, but Apple appears to have decided that this option is no longer worthwhile for most of its own apps. Apple does, however, continue to offer a free 30-day trial of Final Cut Pro X, so it has not yet abandoned trials entirely.

Aperture is priced at $79.99 in the Mac App Store, a significant cut from the $199 price of the boxed software it replaced. In a similar fashion, the three iWork applications (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) are available through the Mac App Store at $19.99 each, less than the $79 price for the boxed version containing all three applications.

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

Inakto Avatar
170 months ago
as long as they stay away from Activations, and "this copy of Office is not genuine, blah blah blah"
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Schmitty11 Avatar
170 months ago
"The trial version of iWork is no longer available. But you can easily purchase...."
Someone is being a smart ass
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roadbloc Avatar
170 months ago
Is it wrong to try before you buy now? I really don't see why Apple have done this. I think they should at least add a 'Trial' or 'Demo' button to the Mac App Store page.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
uncle.zed Avatar
170 months ago
They invite for tests to torrents/filestubes etc. with such a limitations.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Freyqq Avatar
170 months ago
When's the last time they even updated iwork? 3 years ago at least?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ugahairydawgs Avatar
170 months ago
In case you still need the trial....

http://www.apple.com/dk/iwork/download-trial/
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)