Apple updates iWork for iOS and Mac, brings tighter integration with Microsoft products

iWork

The latest version 9.3 of iWork Mac lends support to the concurrently released iOS updates, including improved compatibility for Pages, Numbers and Keynote with their Microsoft Office counterparts.

It marks the second major update of Apple's first-party iOS apps in less than a week, following Thursday’s refresh of the iOS Remote app.

From the release notes:

About iWork 9.3

iWork Update 9.3 adds support for iWork for iOS 1.7 apps.

This update is recommended for users of iWork 9.0 and later.

The download comes in at 316.7 MB, identical to the previous update, which coincided with the release of Mountain Lion in in July.

Pages for iOS

Apple's Pages for iOS update was most substantial, and along with the "improved compatibility with Microsoft Word and Pages for Mac," the iPhone and iPad app adds Change Tracking to entire text documents. The feature was previously an exclusive to the desktop version of Pages, which allows users to collaborate and make changes to a document, with those edits being viewable to all contributors.

Version 1.7 of the Pages app also offers preservation of tracked changes in documents exported to Microsoft Word or Pages for Mac.

From the release notes:

What's New in Version 1.7

In this release Pages for iOS is updated for improved compatibility with Microsoft Word and Pages for Mac.

• Use Change Tracking to track changes to body text in a document
• Accept and reject individual changes as you review a document
• Import Pages and Microsoft Word documents with change tracking and continue to track changes to body text
• Preserve tracked changes in documents exported in Microsoft Word or Pages format
• Preserve calculations in tables when importing from and exporting to Pages for Mac
• Add reflections to shapes
• Lock and unlock objects

Pages for iOS version 1.7 is available now from the iOS App Store as a 245 MB download.

Numbers for iOS

Numbers for iOS also hits version 1.7 with Tuesday's update, bringing extended support for importing and exporting files with filters and rich text retention. The app now offers improved compatibility with Microsoft Excel and Numbers for Mac.

From the release notes:

What's New in Version 1.7

In this release Numbers for iOS is updated for improved compatibility with Microsoft Excel and Numbers for Mac.

• Hide and unhide rows and columns
• Import and export Numbers for Mac spreadsheets with filters, and turn filters on and off
• Preserve rich text in tables when importing and exporting
• Add reflections to shapes
• Lock and unlock objects

The iOS iteration of Numbers weighs in at 244 MB and can be downloaded via the iOS App Store.

Keynote for iOS

Behind Pages, it appears that Apple spent the most time on adding new features to Keynote for iOS, which offers improved functionality with Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote for Mac. New slide transitions have been built in, while the app can now import and export all Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote for Mac slide sizes and presentation themes. Just as in Numbers, table calculations are preserved during import from and export to the software's desktop counterpart.

From the release notes:

What's New in Version 1.7

In this release Keynote for iOS is updated for improved compatibility with Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote for Mac.

• Import and export all Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote for Mac slide sizes
• Import and export presentation themes, complete with master slides and preset styles
• Play back all Keynote action builds including Move, Rotate, Scale, and Opacity
• Add new slide transitions including Shimmer and Sparkle
• Preserve calculations in tables when importing from and exporting to Keynote for Mac
• Add reflections to shapes
• New print layouts include options to print with presenter notes, with builds, and without backgrounds
• Lock and unlock objects

Keynote comes in at 304 MB and can be downloaded via the App Store.