Apple to Offer iWork Apps for Free With New iOS Devices

It’s all about the software.

Apple CEO Tim Cook today said the company would be offering iWork apps free with any new iOS device — specifically iPhoto, iMovie, Pages, Numbers and Keynote.

Normally, Pages, Numbers and Keynote cost $9.99 each, while iPhoto and iMovie cost $4.99 apiece.

According to Cook, when you first turn on and use a new iOS device, which includes the just-announced iPhone 5c and 5s, plus iPads and fifth-generation iPod touch, you’ll be greeted with a screen to download the iWork suite.

Cook said that iWork is now the best-selling suite of productivity apps on any platform, though, as AllThingsD’s Ina Fried said, it’s unclear exactly how that is being measured against Microsoft Office. Microsoft released a mobile version of its Office suite for iOS in June, but it’s only available to Office 365 subscribers.

At WWDC, Apple also announced that it would bring its productivity suite to the cloud as part of iOS 7, allowing people to use iWork in the browser across all Apple devices (desktop, iPad, iPhone), and the ability to run iWork apps in the browser using Microsoft’s Windows OS.

“We think that iWork is a really key advantage for our customers’ productivity, and iPhoto and iMovie are great for their creativity,” Cook said. “No other platform has apps like these.”