When discussing the evolution of productivity suites, most analysis focuses on the "then" (the original iWork ’05 to ’09) and the "now" (the current real-time collaboration version). However, the period between 2014 and 2017 represents a fascinating and crucial pivot point. This was the era when Apple abandoned the "boxed software" model and fully committed to the cloud, 64-bit computing, and cross-platform synchronization.
If you launched Pages 5.0 in late 2014, you felt it immediately. The inspector window was gone. The master pages were crippled. Mail merge vanished. Book creation features evaporated. Numbers lost categories and custom templates. Keynote, while visually stunning, dropped advanced transitions. all+apple+iwork+20142017
This move was largely seen as a way to compete with the ubiquity of Microsoft Office and the rising popularity of Google Docs. Key Performance & Design Changes The Definitive Guide to All Apple iWork Releases
Why stop at 2017? Because in March 2018, Apple launched iWork with machine learning (auto-drawing shapes, annotation follow-along). The 2014–2017 era is distinct: it is the "Cloud Collaboration but still Offline-First" era. Why stop at 2017
to download the mobile versions so your projects stay updated across all screens. 4. Accessibility & Compatibility A Beginner's Guide to iWork: Pages, Numbers, and Keynote
2014: A Year of Growth and Refinement