Autodesk announced Tuesday three new AutoCAD products for OS X Lion, AutoCAD 2012 for Mac, AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac, and AutoCAD WS for Mac. The company noted that this is the first time that the LT and WS versions of the company’s dominant AutoCAD product family has been available for the Mac platform, and they are/will be available exclusively through the Mac App Store.
AutoCAD is effectively the industry standard for CAD—computer aided design—software. Autodesk abandoned the Mac in the mid 1990s, but returned last year with AutoCAD 2011 for Mac. The addition of an LT version for 2012 suggests the company is serious about capturing Mac market share, and the WS version, which is a free viewer for AutoCAD .dwg files, means that Mac users will be able to view those files without using third party workarounds.
“Bringing AutoCAD LT and AutoCAD WS to the Mac shows our continued commitment to making design more accessible for an ever-greater number of people to shape the world around them,” Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, Autodesk Platform Solutions and Emerging Business, said in a statement.
AutoCAD 2012 for Mac is set to ship on August 19th, just three days from now, with a retail price of US$3,995. AutoCAD WS will also ship on August 19th, and it’s free. It is not yet listed on the Mac App Store.
AutoCAD LT 2012 is priced at $899.99 an is available through the Mac App Store now.
AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac Screenshot
(Click the image for a larger version)