Apple Updates iWork Apps With New iOS 18.4 and macOS 15.4 Features

by

Apple today updated its iWork apps Keynote, Numbers, and Pages with new features that require iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, or macOS 15.4.

iWork macOS Trio Feature
For example, in the latest version of each app, you can now make text edits using Writing Tools directly in a presentation, spreadsheet, or document. This feature requires Apple Intelligence, which is available on iPhone 15 Pro models, all iPhone 16 models, any Mac or iPad model with an M1 chip or newer, or the iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip.

In addition, Apple says you can now export a presentation, spreadsheet, or document in another format using the Shortcuts app, and all three apps gained improved copy and paste integration with the Freeform app. Each app also received a few other enhancements that are not tied to the latest software updates.

The release notes for version 14.4 of each app on iOS follow.

Keynote:

• Make text edits using Writing Tools directly in your presentation (requires Apple Intelligence and iOS or iPadOS 18.4)
• Export presentations into other formats using Shortcuts (requires iOS or iPadOS 18.4)
• Improved copy and paste with Freeform (requires iOS or iPadOS 18.4)

Numbers:

• Use over 30 new advanced functions including LET, LAMBDA, FILTER, SORT, and UNIQUE
• See results from a single formula across multiple cells using spilling arrays
• Make text edits using Writing Tools directly in your spreadsheet (requires Apple Intelligence and iOS or iPadOS 18.4)
• Export spreadsheets into other formats using Shortcuts (requires iOS or iPadOS 18.4)
• Improved copy and paste with Freeform (requires iOS or iPadOS 18.4)
• Improved compatibility when importing or exporting Microsoft Excel spreadsheets

Pages:

• Make text edits using Writing Tools directly in your document (requires Apple Intelligence and macOS 15.4)
• Add additional pages into a word-processing document more easily
• Export documents into other formats using Shortcuts (requires macOS 15.4)
• Improved copy and paste with Freeform (requires macOS 15.4)

iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 were all released to the general public this week, following more than a month of beta testing.

The updated iWork apps are available in the App Store across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Tags: iWork, Keynote, Numbers, Pages

Popular Stories

iPhone Air

Report: 'Virtually No Demand' for iPhone Air

Wednesday October 22, 2025 3:22 am PDT by
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports. The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
Read Full Article • 525 comments
sam sung auction

Former Apple Employee Sam Sung Changed His Name to Avoid Attention

Wednesday October 22, 2025 4:44 pm PDT by
Back in 2012, an Apple retail employee named Sam Sung went viral because his name is similar to Samsung, one of Apple's main competitors. In a recent interview with Business Insider, he detailed that period in his life, how Apple responded, and he explained why he ultimately changed his name. Someone posted an image of Sung's Apple business card on Reddit in 2012, and it spread rapidly....
Read Full Article • 97 comments
cadillac lyric infotainment

GM to Remove CarPlay from All Future Vehicles, Including Gas Cars

Wednesday October 22, 2025 11:34 am PDT by
General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down. In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the...
Read Full Article • 445 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
Read Full Article • 31 comments
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Apple's Plan to Launch Three New iPhone Designs Allegedly Revealed

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:24 am PDT by
Apple plans to launch a new type of iPhone every year for the foreseeable future, according to an Asia-based source. The detailed information was shared by the account "yeux1122" in a blog post on the Korean platform Naver, citing domestic trend and component research companies. Corroborating other reports, Apple will apparently launch its first foldable iPhone in 2026, featuring a...
Read Full Article • 134 comments
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
Read Full Article • 212 comments
maxresdefault

Apple's iPhone Air Experiment Fails as Supply Chain Cuts Production by 80%

Wednesday October 22, 2025 10:48 am PDT by
iPhone Air demand failed to meet Apple's expectations and the company's supply chain is scaling back shipments and production, reports Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Suppliers are expected to reduce capacity by more than 80 percent between now and the first quarter of 2026, and some components with longer lead times will be discontinued ...
Read Full Article • 648 comments
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Report: Apple to Skip 'iPhone 19' Name for 'iPhone 20'

Thursday October 23, 2025 4:28 am PDT by
Apple's new iPhone lineup launched in the fall of 2027 will be called the "iPhone 20" models, rather than the "iPhone 19," according to research firm Omdia. Speaking at a conference in Seoul (via ETNews), Omdia Chief Researcher Heo Moo-yeol corroborated rumors that Apple plans to move the launch of its standard iPhone to the first half of the year and provided some additional clarity about...
Read Full Article • 150 comments
iOS 26

What's New in iOS 26.1 Beta 4

Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below. Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...
Read Full Article • 35 comments

Top Rated Comments

sdz Avatar
sdz
7 months ago

iWork in general seems a little overlooked these days. Used to be a major feature of the Mac. I guess Microsoft has continued to succeed in making Office indispensable, like it or not.
I use iWork and love it. Quite contrary to the feeling I have when using Microsoft products.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bagelche Avatar
bagelche
7 months ago

Until these apps can directly edit & save in Microsoft-compatible formats there's just no way anyone can use them for actual work.
I really tire of the "actual work" or what is "professional" claims. If your workflow requires particular applications or resources, then use those applications and resources.

Final Cut Pro isn't a "pro" application, Macs aren't "pro" computers, Pages, Keynote, Numbers can't be used for "actual work". Whatever. The argument itself is ridiculous and more often than not, I'm told these apps don't do "N" at all, when in fact, they do "N" just fine. Is this true for every "N"? Of course not, but geesh people. Do your work and let others do theirs.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kirbyrun Avatar
kirbyrun
7 months ago

Until these apps can directly edit & save in Microsoft-compatible formats there's just no way anyone can use them for actual work.
I guess all those books I wrote in Pages aren't actually published and on bookshelves around the world.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
frenchcamp49er Avatar
frenchcamp49er
7 months ago

As someone who uses multiple platforms, this walled-garden garbage is one of the first things I delete.
I have to use windows and never ever use anything windows on my Mac. Been ding this for years with absolute zero issues. I do use all 3 of the apps mentioned.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bagelche Avatar
bagelche
7 months ago

But if you were going to make a new document of your own on your own computer that has an Excel license, would you choose to use Numbers or Excel?

Genuinely asking and curious as to why.

This is how Microsoft won the desktop in the first place. People wanted the same thing at home as they had at work.
The majority of the time I will use Numbers. It handles all of the basic data manipulation I need and if I need something specific that requires Excel, I'll go there (generally it's Numbers for personal work, Google Sheets for collaboration, and if I have to, Excel). For presenting my data, Numbers is vastly superior to Excel in terms of layout and presentation.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
abusbey3 Avatar
abusbey3
7 months ago

Until these apps can directly edit & save in Microsoft-compatible formats there's just no way anyone can use them for actual work.

I like Numbers for very specific things, since it's nice having free-floating tables in the same sheet, something Excel can't do very effectively.

I do prefer Keynote to Powerpoint but inevitably have to convert to powerpoint for when I give talks.

Pages is pointless and I can't remember the last time I actually used it.
Pages is a damn site better than Word. Graphics stay where you put them rather than jumping around. Editing is much easier. I only use Word if I am forced to any more - too much bloat.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments