Mac and iOS users with old hardware can now get some of Apple's fundamental software for free. According to a report from MacRumors, the iWork and iLife suite of apps, including iMovie, Numbers, Keynote, Pages, and GarageBand for Mac and iOS, are now listed as free in the App Store.
Ilife Free Download For Mac
Previously, users with old hardware had to pay for each app. Individual programs cost between $5 and $20 each, which would add up if a user with an old Mac or iOS device wanted to download and use both suites. In 2013, Apple made iWork and iLife apps free for new Mac and iOS customers, but that meant you had to purchase a new Apple device before you could download any of those apps at no cost. Until now, users with hardware released before 2013 still had to pay for iWork and iLife if they hadn't made a new Apple purchase recently.
Now there's no more confusion surrounding the availability of Apple's basic apps. Anyone with old Apple devices can download the latest versions of iWork and iLife apps for free with no strings attached. It might be too little, too late for some; Apple's App Store is so vast that users with old hardware probably found iWork- and iLife-equivalents to use. While we don't know if future updates of iWork and iLife apps will be compatible with all old devices, it's worthwhile to download the latest versions now.
In reality, that likely matters most to sysadmins managing fleets of devices through the Apple Volume Purchase Program, as noted by a KnowledgeBase article (via MacRumors). Put another way, the only folks who will notice a change are those who might have had trouble downloading the apps in the first place.
A while back I got so frustrated with iMovie on my iPad that in a fit of pique I deleted it. Later on I tried to redownload it but the MacAppStore wanted to charge me for it. TNow I can finally try it again.
iLife is a discontinued software suite for macOS and iOS developed by Apple Inc. It consists of various programs for media creation, organization, editing and publishing. At various times, it included: iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, iWeb, and GarageBand. Only iMovie and GarageBand remain and are now freely available on Apple's Mac App Store.[2] iDVD and iWeb have been discontinued while iTunes and iPhoto have been succeeded by Music and Photos respectively.
iLife was preinstalled on new Mac computers and was previously also sold as a bundle on DVD. With the introduction of the Mac App Store, Apple discontinued the DVD bundle and turned to selling the apps separately. Photos, the app that superseded iPhoto, is now an essential part of macOS, while iMovie and GarageBand, although they ship pre-installed on any new Mac computer or iOS device, can be uninstalled if not needed. Updates for iLife apps purchased on the Mac App Store are available for free, while the pre-App Store model required buying the entire suite when a new version had been released.
iMovie has the longest legacy of the applications included with iLife. It was marketed by Apple as an easy-to-use video editing application that allowed novice users to quickly create professional-quality movies. The first version of the software was released in October 1999 and bundled with the iMac DV. On April 28, 2000, Apple began allowing users to download iMovie free of charge from its website.[3] iMovie remained free until 2003, when it became part of the first iLife release, which was sold for $49. Apple continued to update and develop the existing iMovie software until the release of iLife '08 in 2007, when a new version, iMovie '08, was released. iMovie '08 was completely rewritten as a new application and introduced significant changes to the user interface.[4]
iPhoto was the second application in iLife that began as a free application available for download from Apple's website. The first version of iPhoto was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo January 3, 2002, and released January 7, 2002. It was billed as being the "missing link" in photography. In addition to allowing users to import, organize, and perform basic edits on their photos, iPhoto also let users print photos in a variety of ways, including as a bound book.[5] Subsequent versions of iPhoto have added a number of features, including automatic organization by events,[4] faces (using facial recognition technology), and places.[6] iPhoto also includes a full-screen editing mode and a feature called "Photocasting" (a way to share photos with others directly from within iPhoto).[7]
iDVD was first announced on January 9, 2001. It was bundled with the Power Mac G4, the first Mac model with a SuperDrive that could read and write both CDs and DVDs. The first version of iDVD introduced a simple way to design customized DVDs with menus, backdrops, slideshows and home movies that could be played back on most DVD players.[8] iDVD was never released as a download. Instead, it was bundled with the first version of iLife, released in 2003.
Yep, I found that out last night. I went to download Pages on my iPad, and found out I couldn't because I don't have iOS 10 on it. I went to upgrade the OS... and found out my iPad is too old for 10. Sad.
I agree about "death from neglect". When apps become free, it means the developer, Apple, is no longer going to improve them. Eventually Apple will stop supporting them. Ultimately the apps will stop working.
That said, I agree with Adam that free iLife and iWork software is not bad news. And they will encourage adoption of Sierra on hardware that can support it. If your hardware is obsolete, well, to coin a phrase, that's not Apple's problem. Indeed, iLife and iWork upgrades have been platform specific for some time now. In any case, older versions of those apps may be better in some ways than the new kids on the block. New versions have tended to lose rather than gain features, a well established Apple hallmark.
Free may seem like a good thing, but nothing is really free. In this case we will be paying for these apps through hardware purchases, if we use an app or not.Then there is the question of app quality. Since Apple is not making any money off them anymore there is no stimulus to make these apps so good people will be willing to pay for them. The option to vote with our wallet has been taken from us.One sad example is the latest version of Numbers for iOS. The complaints and 1 star reviews are pouring in but Apple seems to be deaf and blind to them. Now that Numbers is free there is even less reason te expect Apple to do anything about this bad update.
But what about people that are unable or unwilling to install the latest versions of MacOS? I cannot find any option to download (or buy) an older version of apps like Keynote, Pages, Numbers, etc. (Nor can I find any info about which version of those apps is compatible with which version of MacOS.)
As much as it would be nice if Apple gave all old stuff away for free, or even kept old versions available for sale, I presume they've done the math and determined that it would be a significant expense that would benefit very few people because those who don't upgrade to new hardware tend not to buy (or even download) new software either.
I bought a Mac that is only a few months old. My understanding was that it is supposed to come with iLife (iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand) either preinstalled or available as a "free" download in the Mac App store. However, this doesn't seem to be the case as it is is not installed and the Mac App Store requires that I pay for it before downloading it.
Additionally, both new and refurbished Mac purchased from Apple or an Authorized Reseller will have iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand pre-installed, with no need to download anything other than updates to those pre-installed apps.
Since you are not seeing those Apps for redemption / re-download in the Mac App Store, let's speculate on what might have happened. If your Mac was purchased used, it's possible that the seller wiped the Mac and reinstalled OS X. This is common practice to ensure a clean system for the new user and to remove any of the seller's personal data. However, iLife is a separate install from OS X, so if the seller neglected to re-install iLife, that's why you're not seeing it.
If you did indeed purchase it used, your best recourse is to bring the issue up with the seller. If it was new or refurbished, contact Apple and they should give you a code to download iLife. They might also be able to help to tell you whether the serial number of the Mac you now own has already redeemed those apps or help you to redeem the license for those apps if they actually transferred to you with the purchase of the Mac.
Out of the bunch, the Places slideshow is one of the most visually interesting additions. The slideshow scours the GPS data in your photos and downloads corresponding map tiles, then places your photos on top of these maps and adds a neat zooming effect as you move from place to place. This is a good way to encourage people to geotag their photos, which is done automatically on some cameras (including the iPhone), but which can also be done after the fact using iPhoto.
iPhoto continues to compete against a handful of competitors, notably Google's Picasa, which is offered up for free on both the Mac and PC, as well as a beta version for Linux users. This year's iPhoto additions arguably give it the edge in continuing to offer a more full-screen photo-viewing experience, and deeper online integration out of the box. That said, Google's integration of Picasa Web albums and the recent addition of Picnik's online photo editing mean you can do a lot more with your photos even when you're away from your computer.
Apple has also expanded the number of lessons available, and it has changed how you can approach them. Instead of having a system where you play through from the basics to the advanced items, you can pick whatever lesson you want, as long as you've downloaded it from the integrated music store. There are also new lessons available for the piano, which now includes pop and classical lesson packs. 2ff7e9595c
Comments