(Image courtesy of AppleInsider)
Most everyone expected the latest version of the iWork ’11 productivity applications to debut at last month’s Back to the Mac event, but a new report claims that while an updated suite is indeed ready to go, it may be held back to debut alongside the forthcoming Mac App Store early next year.
AppleInsider is reporting that development work on iWork ’11 wrapped up this fall and was slated for introduction alongside iLife ’11 at the October 20 Back to the Mac event, but was held back at the last minute for “undisclosed reasons,” according to the usual “people familiar with the matter.”
Despite the absence of an announcement at last month’s event, the iLife applications -- which include Pages, Numbers and Keynote -- were prominently featured in Apple’s presentation of the Mac App Store, which has now led to speculation that the apps will be offered individually when Cupertino opens their virtual doors in early 2011.
A close study of the presentation slides from the Back to the Mac event reveal that each separate component of iWork will sell for $19.99 -- historically, all three applications were bundled on one disc for $79 or $49 with the purchase of any Mac. Cupertino’s presentation slides also appear to offer unbundled purchase of the iLife ’11 programs, each available for $14.99 versus the full suite price of $49 on disc.
Should Apple debut iWork ’11 on the Mac App Store, it would become the first major software for the platform to do so, and likely set a trend for the future. The company is already hard at work accepting third-party submissions for the new store, which will offer the same 70 percent split to developers as the iOS App Store, with 30 percent going to Apple.
What’s unknown at this time is whether or not Apple will also offer a boxed version of the iWork ’11 suite -- should each individual program actually cost $19.99 from the Mac App Store, the downloadable version would save users nearly $19 over the cost of the boxed version, assuming Apple doesn’t slash the price as they did with iLife ’11.
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Lauren Ng
November 12, 2010 at 8:15am
I agree, buying software individually would be great. It would encourage more people to use the software too.
cdtek
November 09, 2010 at 3:11pm
I'm a huge fan of digital distribution. I use Steam to buy most of my games, and love getting music/movies from iTunes and Amazon. Apple is taking the right route with this tactic. And buying the software individually? Awesome.
-Josh Internetbeacon.com
clean86
November 08, 2010 at 5:38pm
This info is dead wrong:
Despite the absence of an announcement at last month’s event, the iLife applications -- which include Pages, Numbers and Keynote -- were prominently featured in Apple’s presentation of the Mac App.
It should read:
Despite the absence of an announcement at last month’s event, the iWork applications -- which include Pages, Numbers and Keynote -- were prominently featured in Apple’s presentation of the Mac App
Darn shoddy reporting for a professional news source!
