What upgrades are in the pipe for Pages?

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Saint112 Author

Level 1

4 points

What upgrades are in the pipe for Pages?

Hi all

My configuration:

MacBook Air M1
MacOS Ventura
Pages 13.2

My background:

I bought my first Mac in 1987 (a second hand Mac 512). I published my first book in 1988 which I had written with MacWrite. In the early 90's MacWrite was going down the drain so I switched to Word. During the 2010's I could not afford the MS Office any more so I switched to OpenOffice then to LibreOffice. A chore! Yet LO does the job.

Occasionally I would have a look at iWorks. Pages remained way too simple for my needs. Then I had a good deal for the Pack Office and could as last come back to a truly professional tool. Yet it has some flaws.

Recently I had a look at Pages 13.2 (the most recent compatible) and I was surprised by the real progress in many features. Yet it's still midstream on the way to become a real professional text processor.

My question:

To your knowledge does Apple plans to beef up iWorks to MS Office level? Or to offer a Pro version? I would pay for Pages if it's affordable (and if one can buy the softs individually, not as a bundle and as a subscription).

TIA

Regards

Nick

MacBook Air 13″

Posted on Jun 5, 2025 7:02 AM

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Answer 1

VikingOSX

Level 10

120,629 points

Jun 5, 2025 8:02 AM in response to Saint112

No Apple employees participate here. No Apple employee that wants to keep their job will reveal future product planning in any (unlikely) email response to sending the product team feedback from the Pages application menu.

It is safe to say that after 20 years, if Apple has not made Pages into a Word clone (unlike LO Writer), then it is not going to happen. Stick with LO, or if continuing your writing, consider Scrivener 3 or Storyist 4, both are in the Mac App Store, specific to the writing process, and both have trials from their websites.

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Answer 2

muguy

Level 10

88,232 points

Jun 5, 2025 7:20 AM in response to Saint112

Nobody in. this forum knows of Apple's plans nor can they speculate on product development paths. If you have feedback, visit apple.com/feedback

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Answer 3

Saint112 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 5, 2025 7:51 AM in response to muguy

Thanks for your quick reply, myguy. :-)

So there were no communications. I must admit I don't keep myself updated.

When you give a feedback and/or requests are they taken into account? Do you get answers?

I would gladely switch to Pages if it could fulfill my needs.

Nick

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Answer 4

Saint112 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 5, 2025 9:50 AM in response to VikingOSX

Hello Viking

Thanks for your reply. I was no asking for leaks but for a possible communication by Apple.

VikingOSX wrote:

It is safe to say that after 20 years, if Apple has not made Pages into a Word clone (unlike LO Writer), then it is not going to happen. Stick with LO, or if continuing your writing, consider Scrivener 3 or Storyist 4, both are in the Mac App Store, specific to the writing process, and both have trials from their websites.

That's what I was thinking until recently when I discovered the significant upgrades that had been done. In a not so distant past you couldn't create headings. Now not only you can but you can create a table of contents that's automatically updated in real time! Even Word doesn't do that. You need to launch an update. So Pages is on the right path. Yet I doubt many Pages users create headings, not to mention a table of contents. I think Pages Pro would have several edges against its competitors:

• It's integration in the MacOS environment.

• The outrageous cost of MS Office. You need to buy the whole pack. It's forced sale.

• LibreOffice improved a lot during the years I was using it but it's still laging way behind Word in many respects and it has many very irritating glitches. OK it's free but using it is often a chore.

• Pages is free. Yet I would pay for a Pro version. Apple has many dual sets of applications a) for the general public (free) and b) for the professionals (at a cost) for photos, videos, etc. Why not the same for text processors and spreadsheet apps?

• Many people who write whether for a living or for personal purposes are Mac users. They certainly would gladly ditch Word or LO.

Regards

Nick

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