As Windows PC users, many people may not be aware that Apple’s iWork suite is free for all owners of an iOS or macOS device, and has been since 2017.
The suite consists of the three typical apps you’d expect; Pages, the word processor, Numbers, the spreadsheet software and Keynote, their presentation software. These are available as downloadable apps on iOS and macOS devices, and can be used as web apps on other operating systems like Windows or Linux. Users of macOS or iOS devices can also access GarageBand and iMovie – sound and video editing software respectively – for free.
If you run an organisation that works mostly on iOS devices or macs, Apple Business Manager can help you to deploy and manage software and user accounts across various types of device.
Useful for those simply looking for a way to edit or create documents on their current iOS device while on the move, iWork places an emphasis on making its documents look smart and making their software easy to use. If you own an iPad or iPad pro with Apple Pencil support, their software is also tailored to allow this as an input device, allowing you to drag and drop, annotate and sketch in and on documents as you would on paper. Integration with iCloud makes it easy to store, share and collaborate on documents with others.
The apps are also capable of saving documents in formats compatible with Microsoft Office, so you won’t have to worry about not being able to open a file you’ve created on another device. There are some features that are not supported and some that are partially supported, but the basic structure and content of documents is preserved, enabling you to move and work between apps, if you have, for example, an iPad at home and a Windows PC in the office.
