Pages, Numbers, and Keynote updated with a ton of macOS Ventura features

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote
Pages, Numbers, and Keynote (Image credit: Apple)

Apple has released updates to all of its iWork apps.

Today's update, which brings the productivity suite to version 12.2, adds some notable updates to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and iCloud, but especially macOS.

The new update launches a ton of new features enabled by macOS Ventura, which was launched to all users on Monday, October 25. You can check out all of the new features below:

Pages

The latest version of Pages adds a number of notable features to the writing app, including the ability to send a message or start a FaceTime call from within a collaborative document:

  • An all-new activity view shows recent changes in collaborative documents, including when people join, comment, and make edits
  • Get notifications when others join or make changes in your shared documents
  • Share a document in Messages to instantly start collaborating with your team and see updates right in the Messages conversation (Requires macOS 13)
  • Send a message or start a FaceTime call right from a collaborative document (Requires macOS 13)
  • Now use the File menu to manage your shared document or send a copy
  • The new Blank Layout template makes it easy to start documents that let you freely arrange text and graphics
  • A new option lets you automatically remove an image’s background to isolate its subject (Requires macOS 13)

Numbers

Numbers also has an exciting update. The latest version, amongst other things, allows you to work across multiple spreadsheets on iPad with Stage Manager:

  • An all-new activity view shows recent changes in collaborative spreadsheets, including when people join, comment, and make edits
  • Get notifications when others join or make changes in your shared spreadsheets
  • Share a spreadsheet in Messages to instantly start collaborating with your team and see updates right in the Messages conversation (Requires iOS 16 or iPadOS 16)
  • Send a message or start a FaceTime call right from a collaborative spreadsheet (Requires iOS 16 or iPadOS 16)
  • Compare values and combine text with new functions, including BITAND, BITOR, BITXOR, BITLSHIFT, BITRSHIFT, ISOWEEKNUM, CONCAT, TEXTJOIN, and SWITCH
  • See autocomplete suggestions based on the contents of other cells in the same column
  • Style charts with additional controls for colors, lines, and number formats
  • Be even more productive on iPad with iPadOS 16
  • Quickly insert objects and get to your favorite tools with the customizable toolbar
  • Find common actions like print, rename, and more in the new document menu
  • Work across multiple spreadsheets more easily with Stage Manager on supported iPad models
  • A new option lets you automatically remove an image’s background to isolate its subject (Requires iOS 16 or iPadOS 16)

Keynote

The latest version of Keynote adds the ability to share a presentation in Messages to instantly start collaborating:

  • An all-new activity view shows recent changes in collaborative presentations, including when people join, comment, and make edits
  • Get notifications when others join or make changes in your shared presentations
  • Share a presentation in Messages to instantly start collaborating with your team and see updates right in the Messages conversation (Requires iOS 16 or iPadOS 16)
  • Send a message or start a FaceTime call right from a collaborative presentation (Requires iOS 16 or iPadOS 16)
  • Be even more productive on iPad with iPadOS 16
  • Quickly insert objects and get to your favorite tools with the customizable toolbar
  • Find common actions like print, rename, and more in the new document menu
  • Work across multiple presentations more easily with Stage Manager on supported iPad models
  • A new option lets you automatically remove an image’s background to isolate its subject (Requires iOS 16 or iPadOS 16)
  • Remove or replace the background of live video for a dramatic effect
  • Style charts with additional controls for colors, lines, and number formats
  • Additional options for printing and exporting PDFs

If you are curious about what other types of office apps are good on the Mac, check out our list of the Best Home Office Software for Working from Home.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.