Apple is cleaning up the Mac App Store in the USA and worldwide by officially pulling the plug on some very old software. The company quietly removed the legacy versions of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers from its digital storefront this week.
If you still rely on these older word processing and presentation tools, you can no longer download them fresh to your desktop or laptop computer.
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The company forces users to upgrade to newer software versions
For years, Apple kept these older applications available for download. It originally launched completely rewritten versions of these tools back in 2013. However, those new updates actually removed several popular features that long-time users loved. Because of the backlash, the company allowed customers to keep downloading the older, more feature-rich versions.
Now, after bringing those missing tools back into the modern apps over the last decade, it has decided the legacy software is no longer needed.
Old apps will still work if you have already downloaded them
If you already have these older programs installed on your Mac, you do not need to panic. The software will continue to run exactly as it did yesterday. Apple is not deleting the files directly from your hard drive. The change only affects the ability to find and install the applications from the store
If you buy a new computer or format your current hard drive, you will have to use the newest versions moving forward
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