Following a short beta testing period, Apple's iCloud.com website has been updated to make its iWork suite of apps accessible to all users, even those without an Apple device.
As of today, anyone can sign up for an Apple ID to access Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for free. The software suite lets users create and edit text documents, presentations, and spreadsheets from their browsers. Signing up for a free Apple ID account entitles users to 1GB of complimentary iCloud storage to be used with the apps for storing documents.
Previously, access to Apple's iWork suite of apps was limited to users who owned an iOS device or a Mac, but with Apple's new web-only iCloud access, the company can draw new users to its platform and compete with more universal software offerings like Microsoft's Office Suite.
iCloud.com's web-only apps can be accessed from recent versions of Safari, Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer. Free accounts are limited to 1GB of storage and users will need an iOS device or Mac to acquire more storage or access iCloud's full set of features.
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature.
According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles.
CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
Apple's Vision Pro headset has left many early adopters expressing dissatisfaction over its weight, limited use cases, and sparse software ecosystem, according to a new article from The Wall Street Journal.
In the year following the device's launch, user feedback suggests that it has failed to meet expectations for comfort, software support, and social acceptance. In interviews conducted by T...
The upcoming all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air could become the first Apple smartphone to adopt advanced battery technology, with Japanese supplier TDK preparing to ship its new generation of silicon-anode batteries by the end of June.
According to DigiTimes, TDK CEO Noboru Saito revealed in a recent interview that the Apple supplier has accelerated its production timeline, moving shipments...
Apple today clarified that it has not blocked Epic Games from updating the iOS Fortnite app in the European Union, but it is not planning to allow Epic Games to offer Fortnite in the United States App Store at the current time.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple said that Epic Games tied its U.S. App Store submission to the update that was also being submitted to the Epic Games Store for iOS ...
I think I speak for most users when I say I would prefer to see active advancements in the development of Apple software - especially in areas that are actually important to users. Who out there asked for web versions of iWork? Nice, I guess… but there are a zillion things I'd prefer to see first. Too much of Apple's software is missing core features, there are a few bugs and most things go for long dry periods with no improvements.
Software is Apple's weakest area, especially professional software —which seems unacceptable for a technology company worth over $700 billion…
Hire more developers and designers: a few more dedicated JDI, enhancement and bug hunting teams would do Apple software wonders.
I think I speak for most users when I say I would prefer to see active advancements in the development of Apple software, rather than reductions of features, bugs, or long dry periods with no improvements. Software is Apple's weakest area, especially professional software —*which seems unacceptable for a technology company worth over $700 billion.
Hire more developer and bug hunting teams.
Count me as one who was disappointed with the last update (downgrade) to Keynote. I'm all for making Apple software available to everyone to bring more people into the fold but I wish there was an offline Pro version of Keynote for us in the professional presentation business. Keynote lost too many good features dumbing it down for the masses iCloud, although I don't know why we had to give up animations and transitions on master slides to put it on iCloud.
If only I could have the design capabilities of Keynote and the operating ease of ProPresenter, I would be in hog heaven!
----------
You speak of 1GB as if it were 1MB. It would take a lot of "office" documents to fill up 1GB. Apple wants to encourage users to "upgrade" to an Apple device in order to get more out of the suite. Easy decision for many consumers and businesses.
Not if you include embedded video on your slides...
... Software is Apple's weakest area, especially professional software —which seems unacceptable for a technology company worth over $700 billion…
Hire more developers and designers: a few more dedicated JDI, enhancement and bug hunting teams would do Apple software wonders.
It's important to pay attention to what _is_ actually happening. Apple has progressively been opening up public betas of its various offerings. This will improve the bug hunting process without hiring additional developers. The development tools are constantly being updated and improved upon, and this directly benefits Apple's own developers, not just third-parties. More cooks in the kitchen (ie. paid employees) isn't always the solution. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Apple is becoming too big for their own good, a problem that we know all too well can have a negative effect on companies. It's up to Tim and Co. to manage this properly and not become another Microsoft.
A year and a half ago, Pages was updated to version 5.0 and it dropped ONE much-needed feature for our team. I've made several attempts to voice this concern to Apple through various channels, but it's all fallen on deaf ears. That is a very frustrating experience. Some might say "just use the older version of Pages", but they fail to realize that it won't even launch on Yosemite! I did manage to find a hacked version online that would launch, however, but solving this problem took weeks of effort. Totally unnecessary. If Apple were only more responsive to customer feedback, and had a more responsive development workflow for its software, this "black eye" could've been avoided. That's my take.
This is a no-brainer for Apple, which is great. However, the 1GB of free storage seems stingy. Realizing this will only work with iCloud apps, how far will 1GB go for most standard users?
