Apple has announced plans to update its iWork suite of applications in the coming weeks.
iWork, made up of Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, is available on iOS and macOS, and a new version of all three software packages will be released this month with greater support for the Apple Pencil, giving iPad users more control when presenting or creating documents.
Keynote is expected to gain new animation options that allow users to draw animation paths for objects, whilst a new user interface for moving, rotating, and scaling is also in the works.
In addition, the new iWork package will allow users to create their own animated gifs by exporting slides via iOS or macOS from Keynote, and vertical text in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean will be supported for the first time.
In Numbers, users will be able to increase the max zoom to 400 percent for the first time, a new maximum file size of 2GB will be introduced, users will be able to sync shapes, templates, and themes via iCloud, and image placeholders will be added, allowing you to add content later without affecting formatting.
Originally a paid-for feature, iWork is now free on macOS and iOS and is Apple’s answer to PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
Microsoft recently introduced its Office 365 suite to iPad and iPhones, whilst competitor Google also offers Docs, Sheets, and Slides for free on iOS, too.
At a time when Apple is increasing reliance on software and subscriptions to drive revenue, it is likely that software like iWork will continue to be updated, in an effort to encourage users to stay locked into the iOS and macOS ecosystems, rather than use Google or Microsoft.
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