Many readers who purchased their Macs recently may be puzzled reading this headline because they did not have pay for iWork and iLife packages. That’s right: Apple made these software packages available free of charge for anyone who bought their Macs in 2013 and later. The apps came preinstalled on devices or were offered for free with update installation. However, for the rest of the users iWork and iLife remained a symbolic payment away. The price of GarageBand was around £5. iWork, that includes Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, was attainable for about £20. Now everyone can get it without paying a penny.
What stands behind Apple’s decision to make the above-mentioned software packages free? Supporting documentation suggests that this move aimed to please businesses and educational institutions. However, some people believe that by making the software free Apple can stop its development in the future without generating much fuss. The similar story happened to Workflow iOS app when after making the app free in March 2017 Apple declared that the app won’t undergo any new development anymore. However, Apple had to refund the money to the users who paid for Workflow recently. According to another rumor, Apple is simply abandoning the old strategy to incentivise people to sell old Mac devices and buy new ones.