Apple Planning Updates to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote Apps to Take Advantage of Trackpad Support on iPads

Apple today announced that its iWork suite of productivity apps, including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, will soon be updated to take full advantage of trackpad support coming in iPadOS 13.4, which will be released on March 24.

ipad pro 2020 documents 1
From its press release for new iPad Pro models today:

Writing and editing text is a breeze in Pages, working with multiple objects in Keynote is easier than ever, and added levels of precision make working with even the largest spreadsheets a snap. Additional new features include gorgeous new templates in Pages and Keynote, giving users a head start on creating beautiful documents and, for the first time in iWork, users can add a drop cap to make a paragraph stand out with a large, decorative first letter.

Apple added that collaboration will also become easier with support for iCloud folder sharing, a feature expected to be available in iPadOS 13.4.

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
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 CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
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 ...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
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...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple Will Reportedly Be More Cautious About Announcing New Features Well in Advance

Sunday May 18, 2025 2:50 pm PDT by
Apple plans to mostly stop announcing new features more than a few months before they are ready to launch, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett. The pair of reporters revealed this noteworthy tidbit towards the bottom of a lengthy report about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings today. This alleged change in strategy comes after Apple was forced to delay its more...
iPhone Siri Glow

Apple Will Reportedly Let iPhone Users in the EU Switch Away From Siri

Sunday May 18, 2025 2:31 pm PDT by
Apple is planning to give users in the EU the ability to set a default voice assistant other than Siri, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett. In a lengthy report about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings today, Gurman and Bennett said Apple plans to introduce this change across multiple software platforms, which likely means the iPhone, iPad, and Mac at a minimum. ...

Top Rated Comments

BWhaler Avatar
68 months ago
Great news. IWork is awesome. I hope Apple adds other cool features too, eg smart shapes with Apple Pencil, etc.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AllergyDoc Avatar
68 months ago
And hopefully bring back features found in older versions of the apps.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
moabal Avatar
68 months ago
I’ll just wait until Microsoft updates their suite of apps.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Freeangel1 Avatar
68 months ago
No way iWork will ever enjoy the current success of Microsoft Office
I still prefer Office 2019 for Mac over iWork
even on iPad

Microsoft hit a major milestone.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3532795/one-and-a-half-years-late-microsoft-finally-puts-windows-10-over-the-1-billion-mark.html
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Roscorito Avatar
68 months ago
That’s all well and good but given the pro moniker and prices can’t we get some serious pro apps? xcode, Logic etc?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
68 months ago

So, I'm assuming this means that developers have to update their apps to be able to take advantage? We'll see how long that takes.
Well, yes.

Shouldn't take too long, though. Nadella-era Microsoft is quite happy to make Office on iPad a first-tier platform. They're not quite there yet, but bit by bit.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)