Apple is making available its online suite of productivity tools free to anyone, even to users who do not have an Apple device.
Previously, iWork for iCloud, which is still currently in beta since it was launched in 2013, was only available for users who either had a Mac, an iPad, or an iPhone. Now, Apple is taking away all those restrictions and is allowing users who do not have a device running on iOS or OS X.
To use iWork for iCloud, users only need to sign up for an Apple ID. Once their Apple ID is registered, they can immediately gain access to the word processor app Pages, spreadsheet app Numbers, and presentation app Keynote. Users will also need to save documents within the apps, so Apple is also throwing in free 1GB of cloud storage on iCloud for saving files.
The current offer only includes iWork for iCloud, which means Windows, Android, and Linux users will only be able to use Apple's productivity apps only if they have Internet access. It is not clear whether Apple plans to unleash the standard iWork apps for free to non-Apple users anytime soon, but it is clear that the iPhone maker is targeting more established players Google and Microsoft in the productivity arena.
iWork for iCloud is in direct competition with Google's Docs, Sheets, and Slides, but Apple is also going after the market leader, Microsoft, whose Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are virtually everywhere.
In the productivity department, Apple may be the challenger, but it is one challenger to look out for. Once people get a taste of what Apple has to offer, it is easier for them to jump into the premium services and more expensive products without much convincing from Apple. The iPhone maker is banking on this kind of halo effect to give non-Apple users a taste of iWork for iCloud and hopefully get them to purchase the standard iWork apps and other Apple products and services.
Still, it's a long way to go for iWork to take over Office 365, which Microsoft reported now has more than 9.2 million subscribers, up 30 percent from the previous quarter. In its fourth-quarter earnings report, Microsoft said the growth in Office 365 for consumers and commercial users, as well as the increase in earnings in Microsoft's Azure platform, largely contributed to the software maker's 8 percent increase in quarterly revenue to $26.47 billion.
Apple's own suite of productivity software is often seen as a pared down version of Office 365, which offers plenty of functionality for power users. In 2013, when Apple first made the standard iWork apps free, Microsoft corporate vice president of communications Frank Shaw dismissed Apple's move.
"When I see Apple drop the price of their struggling, lightweight productivity apps, I don't see a shot across our bow, I see an attempt to play catch up," Shaw said.
