Apple reveals new iPad Air
RAW VISION: Apple introduces what is set to be a thinner, lighter and more powerful version of their popular iPad.
PT1M49S http://www.smh.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2vzun 620 349 October 23, 2013Apple is pushing users further towards the cloud with a move to give away free software for every new iPhone and Mac.
We've seen a slew of new devices from Apple today including the iPad Air and iPad mini Retina  as well as the cylindrical Mac Pro. But when you look at the big picture it's what Apple is giving away that's more interesting.
The next MacOS update, Mavericks 10.9, is a free download available as of today. Think back six years and we were paying $158 to upgrade from Tiger to Leopard. After that the Snow Leopard upgrade was only $39 and the price kept falling by about $10 per version until now a whole new release of MacOS is completely free.
A side view of Apple's new iPad Air. Photo: AFP
Mavericks is the first version of MacOS X that Apple has given away, and Apple doesn't do anything without a reason. It would be a little naive to write it off as simple generosity when Apple could have charged $9.99 for it, putting hundreds of millions of dollars in the Cupertino coffers while still convincing loyal users they were getting a bargain.
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It's not just Mavericks which Apple is giving away as of today. It's also giving away the iWork and iLife desktop software suites with every new Mac, which previously cost $129 each. Meanwhile any new iOS7 device comes with Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iMovie and iPhoto pre-installed for free, saving iGadget owners another $50. Apple has also released the iOS7.0.3 update to add compatibility with iCloud Keychain and other Mavericks features, tightening the symbiotic relationship between Apple's desktop and handheld devices.
So if you're an contemplating buying a new Mac and iGadget then Apple is putting more than $300 worth of savings on the table â€" assuming you would have bought all that software. And that's what this is all about, ensuring that people do use that software. Why? Because all those applications are tied together by the iCloud platform and that's where Apple wants to see all of its customers as soon as possible.Â
Apple's cloud service got off to a very shaky start and it's one area where it clearly lags behind rivals like Google and Microsoft. The iWork for iCloud beta is only just now adding support for real-time collaboration, a key feature the competition has offered for a long time. Keep in mind that the first 5GB of iCloud storage is free, after which Apple charges $21 a year for an extra 10GB, $42 for 20GB or $105 for 50GB. The more reliant you are on iCloud, the more likely you are to hit the 5GB threshold and start paying for cloud storage â€" turning you into an regular revenue stream.
The real beauty of cloud services â€" for Apple, Google and Microsoft â€" is that once you start using the cloud it's much harder to ever walk away and start afresh somewhere else. So you not only become a subscription customer, you stay a subscription customer. If you're an iCloud user you're more likely to keep buying Apple hardware in the future, rather than be tempted by something like the Android-powered Nexus 7. Free software might be free as in "free beer" but it can also be free as in "free handcuffs", locking you into the iCloud ecosystem.Â
How much do you rely on cloud services, from Apple or any other vendor? How hard would it be to change cloud services?
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this blog post stated that Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iMovie and iPhoto were available for free on any iOS7 device. In fact the software applications are only available for free on new iOS7 devices activated on or after September 1. The App Store checks the user's Apple ID for the device's activation date.
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