Apple's iWork for iCloud Apps Gain New Collaboration Features

When Apple launched its new iWork updates at its October iPad-centric event, it also officially debuted iWork for iCloud, which is a browser-based version of its Pages, Numbers, and Keynote productivity software. Files edited in iWork for iCloud are designed to sync with the Mac and iOS versions of Apple's iWork software.

During the event, Apple showed off some impressive real-time collaboration features within the software, allowing multiple users to work on a document simultaneously and share changes easily.

As noted by 9to5Mac, iWork for iCloud today gained some new features to enhance its collaboration tools, including a list that displays all users currently editing a project, plus the ability to toggle on "cursors and selections" for each person to see changes in real time.

newicloud
The apps have also received new folders to make file organization simpler, printing can be done directly from the Tools menu, and it is now possible to skip slides within Keynote during playback.

The iWork for iCloud software is available to all users for free, and it can be accessed through Apple's iCloud.com website. Collaboration through the software is simple and can be initiated through sending a simple link to another user.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Apple John Ternus 2019

Will John Ternus Really Be Apple's Next CEO?

Friday December 5, 2025 9:01 am PST by
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge. Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Release Candidates to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....

Top Rated Comments

scottishwildcat Avatar
157 months ago
Handy indeed, but please bring back the missing features in the Mac iWork apps..

They've already told us they'll be doing that.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
troop231 Avatar
157 months ago
Handy indeed, but please bring back the missing features in the Mac iWork apps..
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CptnJustc Avatar
157 months ago
With the amount of money and developers they have, this would've been done by now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks%27_law
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
subsonix Avatar
157 months ago
The problem exactly is that while I can use iWork '09 RIGHT NOW, it will become obsolete. The upgrade to the new version is unusable for some people and it's apparent that the new direction that iWork is going is the wrong one.
People who use iWork, Numbers especially, know that at some point with compatibility issues and so forth iWork '09 will be dumped and the current offering doesn't deliver when it comes to productivity. If that doesn't change, then I have to look for alternatives, and sooner rather than later so I can build in a learning curve. If that alternative belongs to another ecosystem (e.g. Google or Microsoft etc, then I may have to reluctantly look at transferring towards that eco-system. I.e. I won't need to be tied into using Apple's software (Which has worked up to date). If I don't need to be tied in to Apple, OSX, iCloud, I might not need to keep my iPhone, buy from iTunes, or use Aperture over Lightroom for example.

This is what pro users have been talking about for some time. If Apple products and software gradually become easy access, universally friendly products then that's great. But if that comes at the expense of productivity, powerful focussed applications, and cohesiveness then the pros who just need things to work will find another solution, perhaps even away from Apple software or hardware.

Why is that process so hard to understand?
It's not hard to understand, but it's different point from what we were discussing. It's a hypothetical future scenario, just look at the amount of times you use the word "if" in your post. I'm more pragmatic and worry about actual problems at hand and how they can be solved. Anyone that holds a job is a professional and the needs in that group differs widely. I have often noticed that it's only purpose in discussions is that it enables the user to keep a frown on their face.

Collaboration is something that can be useful for proof reading of a document and to get an ok from someone else that now also can edit the document directly, regardless of native OS. The new version also supports docx and epub formats, just to name some improvements.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
indychris Avatar
157 months ago
Better collaboration is great, but it just seems a bit out of order to me. I've got to assume that the majority of those who will utilize collaboration are business/professional users; however, the long list of features removed from iWork '13 are those that most negatively effect those same users according to the complaints on the various threads I've read (and for me personally as well).

What's the point of collaboration if professionals don't have the tools necessary to collaborate WITH?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
troop231 Avatar
157 months ago
I think his point is why ask if they're already working on it.

With the amount of money and developers they have, this would've been done by now.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)