Apple has updated its iWork suite of apps to enhance remote presentations as well as working with documents on the go.
Specifically, Apple has added collaborative tools to Keynote, optimised mobile viewing for Pages, and pivot tables are now available on Numbers for all platforms. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers also support the new translation features introduced in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey whereby you can select text and quickly see a translation, hear it read aloud, and replace the selection with the translated text.
Keynote
Apple’s updates are understandably presentation-heavy given the new work norms and the most significant addition is the ability to incorporate live video objects into presentations. You can connect multiple external cameras for a lively interactive experience, or use the front-facing camera to insert yourself into your slides or integrate the active screen of a connected iPhone or iPad onto a slide for real-time interactive demos. These objects can also be resized or stylised with masks, frames, drop shadows, and reflections for added polish.
Presentations can also be conducted with multiple presenters, even remotely, and users can simply control a shared slideshow using any apple device from iPhone to Mac and then passing control to the next presenter.
Pages
Screen View improves the reading experience of Pages for iPhone by optimising all elements for a single-column, continuous flow format. Text is enlarged to make it more legible while pictures are sized to fit the display and tables scroll horizontally as well. No additional setup is needed and you can easily switch between regular view if you need to ensure that the document layout is correct. And yes, you still have full access to editing tools while in Screen View.
Numbers
Pivot tables are one of the key reasons why many users still stick to Microsoft Excel. But now, Numbers users can quickly summarise, group, and rearrange data to identify and analyse patterns and trends. You can also import or export pivot tables to and from Excel. You also have a variety of display options so you can present the resulting table in a clear layout that you think best suits your reader. What’s more, you have fully featured pivot tables even on the mobile version of Numbers.
Numbers is also introducing a new chart type called Radar Charts, a tool to visually compare multiple variables by showing similarities through overlapping areas and making differences and outliers stand out. It also has new filter options that let you find duplicate entries and unique values so you can easily show or hide rows that match a specific value.
