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Apple released version 14.0 of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote on April 2, 2024, with practical improvements including Command-key text selection, better handling of HEIC photos, and clearer collaboration notifications. The release came before Apple announced its M4-powered OLED iPad Pro on May 7, but it was a cross-platform update—not a set of features exclusive to the new iPad.
What changed in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote 14.0?
The version 14.0 updates arrived for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Their most noticeable changes are workflow refinements rather than a redesign of Apple’s productivity suite.
| App | Documented changes |
|---|---|
| Pages | Command-key selection of separate words, sentences, or paragraphs; streamlined notifications when someone joins a shared document for the first time; preservation of HEIC format and full image quality when adding photos from an iPhone or iPad; stability and performance improvements. |
| Numbers | Command-key selection of noncontiguous text; streamlined first-time collaborator notifications; HEIC photo format and quality preservation; stability and performance improvements. |
| Keynote | Three themes—Dynamic Color, Minimalist Light, and Minimalist Dark—plus the text-selection, collaboration-notification, and HEIC improvements. Apple also improved compatibility for slide transitions when importing or exporting PowerPoint presentations, alongside stability and performance improvements. |
The release notes summarized by MacRumors describe the iPad and iPhone changes as nearly identical to the Mac updates. These are not iPad-only additions.
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For an iPad connected to a physical keyboard, Command-key selection is the clearest editing improvement. Hold Command while selecting separate words, sentences, or paragraphs, then apply a supported text action. It brings a familiar keyboard-oriented way to work with separate passages to iWork on iPad. It is of little help if you edit entirely by touch, and it applies to selectable text—not objects, charts, or spreadsheet cell ranges.
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HEIC handling matters when a report, assignment, or presentation includes photos taken on an iPhone or iPad. The documented improvement is that the apps preserve the HEIC format and full image quality when those photos are added. It is not a promise that every later export, cloud service, or recipient’s software will keep the image as HEIC. If format matters, check the exported file and the workflow it will enter.
Streamlined notifications make it easier to notice when someone joins a shared Pages document, Numbers spreadsheet, or Keynote presentation for the first time. This refines awareness around collaboration; it does not introduce collaboration itself. Whether a notification appears can depend on the shared file, permissions, account, and joining circumstances.
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Keynote’s PowerPoint improvement is useful, not a guarantee
Keynote 14.0 improved compatibility for slide transitions when importing and exporting Microsoft PowerPoint files. That can reduce friction for people who prepare a presentation in Keynote and share it with PowerPoint users, but it does not promise perfect round-trip conversion. Fonts, animations, media, charts, embedded objects, and complex transitions may still differ between apps.
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For an important presentation, inspect the imported deck in Keynote, export it, and test the result in PowerPoint itself. A preview in Keynote alone cannot show how the recipient’s copy of PowerPoint will render it.
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- IPADOS — Run pro apps and get more done with iPadOS 26 with Liquid Glass design and game-changing capabilities.* With an intuitive and flexible windowing system, you can control, organize, and manage your workflows like never before.
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How the update fits the 2024 OLED iPad Pro timeline
- April 2, 2024: Pages, Numbers, and Keynote 14.0 were released.
- May 7, 2024: Apple announced the redesigned iPad Pro with an M4 chip and tandem OLED Ultra Retina XDR display.
- May 15, 2024: The new iPad Pro became available in stores.
The dates made the software refresh timely: Apple was about to spotlight the iPad as a high-end productivity and creative device. But Apple did not say that iWork 14.0 was made for the OLED iPad Pro, and the listed changes do not require its M4 chip or display. The hardware announcement also covered products such as Apple Pencil Pro and a redesigned Magic Keyboard, but those are separate from the iWork 14.0 feature set. See Apple’s iPad Pro announcement and availability announcement.
Was it really a major update?
That depends on what “major” means. Version 14.0 was a broad update across Apple’s three iWork apps and platforms, with several improvements that can help regular users. It was not a ground-up redesign, nor did it add a new spreadsheet formula system, a radically different interface, or OLED-specific effects.
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- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — iPad Pro with M5 brings next-generation speed and the power of on-device AI to all your tasks.* Featuring up to 2TB of storage, 16GB of memory, and Neural Accelerators for next-level AI performance.*
- IPADOS — Run pro apps and get more done with iPadOS 26 with Liquid Glass design and game-changing capabilities.* With an intuitive and flexible windowing system, you can control, organize, and manage your workflows like never before.
- APPLE INTELLIGENCE — Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that helps you communicate, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly with groundbreaking privacy protections at every step.*
- 11-INCH ULTRA RETINA XDR DISPLAY — The world’s most advanced display, featuring extreme brightness, precise contrast, ProMotion, P3 wide color, and True Tone.* Nano-texture display glass available in 1TB and 2TB configurations
The strongest beneficiaries are keyboard-equipped iPad users, people who collaborate in shared files, users who insert iPhone or iPad photos, and Keynote presenters who exchange decks with PowerPoint users. Touch-only users and people who do not use iWork may notice little. The iPad-focused coverage from 9to5Mac likewise highlights the collaboration and iPad workflow angle.
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Should you update—or buy an OLED iPad Pro?
If you use Pages, Numbers, or Keynote, updating to 14.0 was sensible for its usability and stability improvements. To try noncontiguous selection, connect a hardware keyboard and select separate text passages while holding Command. To verify image handling, insert an HEIC photo and inspect the file after sharing or export; downstream software may convert it.
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- WHY IPAD PRO — iPad Pro with the Apple M5 chip delivers extraordinary performance for effortless productivity on a stunning display. Take on pro workflows with Neural Accelerators for AI and a redesigned iPadOS with game-changing capabilities.*
- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — iPad Pro with M5 brings next-generation speed and the power of on-device AI to all your tasks.* Featuring up to 2TB of storage, 16GB of memory, and Neural Accelerators for next-level AI performance.*
- IPADOS — Run pro apps and get more done with iPadOS 26 with Liquid Glass design and game-changing capabilities.* With an intuitive and flexible windowing system, you can control, organize, and manage your workflows like never before.
- APPLE INTELLIGENCE — Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that helps you communicate, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly with groundbreaking privacy protections at every step.*
- 13-INCH ULTRA RETINA XDR DISPLAY — The world’s most advanced display, featuring extreme brightness, precise contrast, ProMotion, P3 wide color, and True Tone.* Nano-texture display glass available in 1TB and 2TB configurations
The update alone is not a reason to buy an iPad Pro. Its iWork features were not documented as exclusive to the M4 model, and basic Pages, Numbers, and Keynote work does not inherently demand the Pro’s OLED display. A keyboard is the accessory most directly relevant to Command-key selection, while Apple Pencil Pro is more relevant to annotation, drawing, and markup. Check Apple’s compatibility information for the specific iPad and accessory before buying; the 2024 iPad Pro Magic Keyboard design should not be assumed to fit older models.
For users who need deep Microsoft Office compatibility or advanced Excel workflows, improved Keynote transition handling is not proof that it fully replaces PowerPoint. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are alternatives worth considering when the recipient’s software, cross-platform collaboration, or browser-based workflow matters more than Apple-native editing.
This is a historical look at the April 2024 release, not a claim about the current iWork versions or present-day iPad lineup. Apple’s iPad newsroom archive lists related 2024 announcements, including separate professional-app news, but those Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro updates should not be conflated with iWork 14.0.
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