Gone are the days when Apple, like Microsoft and many other companies, distributed its software on physical packages containing a CD with different applications. Or rather with “programs”, this is how fashion in the 2000s dictated that what we abbreviate today as applications be called. One of them was iLife, from Apple, of course.
It was a suite of applications that still exists in one way or another. We do not recommend looking for it as such in an Apple Store or in the application store or on the company’s website, since it does not have that name, although some of its tools still exist.
A good deal at the moment for only 50 dollars
iLife should not be confused with iWork. The latter, although it is no longer officially called that, is what brings together the Pages, Numbers and Keynote applications (Apple’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint). What iLife integrated was applications for content creation. But let’s go in parts.
It’s barely 24 years since Apple began distributing iMovie for Mac via the web, the famous video editor that still exists and eventually came to iPhone and iPad. For three years it was a free tool, but In 2003, iMovie was integrated into the new iLife along with other applications. All distributed in digital format or by purchasing a physical package which costs around 49 dollars and dollars. Inside, all this:
- iMovie: the aforementioned video editor which, without claiming to reach the most professional audience, made it easier to edit personal videos for amateurs and professionals who were just starting out in the world.
- GarageBand: another app that still exists and had a similar mission to the current one, focusing on sound creation using digital instruments and with interesting audio editing additions.
- DVD: Yes, in 2003, the fashion was not streaming, but the consumption of films and other content in DVD format. This application was the epicenter of Macs for saving this type of content in physical format, with the added possibility of also saving in MP3 format.
- The Web: Creating personal (and even professional) websites and blogs was something Apple wanted to make easier with this tool which, for almost a decade, served to make this task easier for users who were unfamiliar with it. advanced programming languages that are usually required for publishing. a website.
- iPhoto: Although it never reached that level, it was something of a rival to Adobe’s Photoshop, loaded with editing tools and some of them very powerful.
- iTunes: there is little to explain about a myth that existed until two days ago, so to speak. For the most forgetful, let’s say that it was Apple’s versatile program that began to move towards the purchase of songs and musical albums and ended up even becoming a repository of rental films and even a manager for devices like the iPhone.
Among these, each person would have their own assessment of the price based on their particular situation and needs. However, it was generally on par with other Windows suites and the sheer number of tools offered to the average user made it easily cost effective. It was not in vain, it was a unique price for life. If you wanted to renew, you had to go through the checkout again, but no one was stopping you from continuing to use the old versions despite the existence of new ones.
iLife was distributed for ten years
The Apple of 2003, the year in which we mentioned the launch of iLife, was a very different company than the company today. Unlike the current era where iPhones reign, Macs and their software constituted the main source of revenue for the company, although already with the beginning of an increase in the share surrounding the sale of iPods and songs via iTunes.
So much that new versions of iLife are released every year. The first few years were at the now-defunct igamesnews conference held in January. As now happens in each version of macOS, every year they add new features to the applications, as well as improving their interface. Of course, in all cases this was optional software that wasn’t included with OS X, which is what macOS was still called back then.
So we had a a total of nine versions of iLife over ten years. Some stand out, like the one in 2005 with a price increase that was already around $80 and remained that way even in 2006, the year iLife lost iTunes because it became a native app preinstalled on Mac .
In 2010, with the arrival of Macs equipped with Intel processors, Apple left behind the old Macs equipped with PowerPC, thus leaving them out of compatibility with the new iLife. However, as is now the case with office suites such as Microsoft Office, There were no limitations on purchasing previous versions
The end of iLife and the democratization of native applications
The 2011 iLife represented a significant change by ceasing to be a closed package and allowing apps to be purchased separately at prices between $15 and $20. A similar roadmap was followed in 2013 and 2014 was the first year without new iLife, since these were already released on all Macs, at least on most of them.
iMovie, Garageband and iTunes continued to be present on Mac as native and completely free applications. However, Three applications were abandoned and they never came back. Logically, given the decline in interest in DVDs, iDVD had its last update in the summer of 2011, iWeb was discontinued a year later, and in 2014, iPhoto was still going strong. However, the latter ended up disbanding in 2015, when its last stable version was released.
While iPods were already increasingly in the background, the iPhone and iPad were Apple’s new right eye. Macs, although selling well, were no longer the center of the world in Cupertino. And probably because we did not want to abandon them, the strategy was designed to democratize all these applications and leave in the past the sale of software in the form of packages, whether physical or digital.
Remnants of iLife that still exist on macOS (and other systems)
As we said, iMovie and Garageband still exist, in a way, leaving that spirit of iLife somewhat alive, even if technically they’re not sold together. Not even separately, finally, since in the end they are two native applications already pre-installed or, failing that, downloadable for free from the App Store. And not just on Mac, but also on iPhone and iPad
iTunes was less lucky when at WWDC 2019, they left her for dead. A death already planned, logical and dignified, everything must be said. The parodies that Apple itself made of it will be remembered (on video, from 1h:43m). Some parodies with a lot of sense of reality, since the application was loaded with functions beyond the original ones and reached the point of being impractical and intuitive even for those who had been using Mac for years.
Yes it’s true that iTunes lived a little longer on Windows. In the Microsoft system it has remained a fundamental key to synchronize iPhones and iPads or to perform actions such as local backups or resetting the device. However, that same year it was buried with four new Apple applications for Windows in which all the functions of iTunes are now accessible on PC, but each in its own application. Much more intuitive, of course.
And finally, Apple only maintains two paid applications
There are still paid Apple apps, even if they have nothing to do with iLife ones. It is Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. The first, an advanced iMovie, if you can call it that, one of the most powerful video editors in the world and aimed at professionals. The second, we could also say that it is an evolved GarageBand, since it is one of the most advanced professional tools for audio editing.
These two are not distributed in physical stores, but in Apple’s own App Store. They cost 349.99 and 229.99 dollars respectively and can also be purchased when purchasing a new Mac. In fact, these are two options that are reflected when configuring the computer’s characteristics in the company’s online store. But as we said before, they have nothing to do with iLife.
These application packages conveyed a better life, but not so much those relating to services. See Apple Music, Apple TV+ or iCloud, available by individual subscription or in Apple One digital plans.
We will have to see if certain changes are announced during WWDC 2024, which will be held next June. And artificial intelligence will be the star of a good part of the next updates and, even if everything indicates that these will be transversal news for all systems and free native applications, there are still those who do not do not exclude new subscriptions. So who knows, maybe we’ll see a new iLife with paid AI. Of course, their sale in cardboard boxes will be remembered forever.
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