Apple buys domain suggesting generative AI additions may come to iWork

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion

Apple owns hundreds of website domains but now it's added "iWork.ai," which could indicate that it has plans to highlight AI features in its applications suite.

Mockup of an
Mockup of an "iWork.AI" logo, based on Apple's iWork '09 launch



Apple tends to refer to its Pages, Numbers, and Keynote applications by those individual names, but it occasionally still refers to them collectively as iWork. It comes from when Apple sold the three in a boxed set, alongside the iLife collection which had iMovie, GarageBand and so on.

The last bundled version of the suite of apps was in 2009 when Apple released iWork'09, and also launched iwork.com. The latter was an attempt to add collaboration to the apps, but the site is no longer active.

Nor is iWork.ai, but as spotted by BuyAIdomains.com, Apple has now bought the domain.

BuyAIdomains.com appears to be correct that Apple has acquired the domain, but the site goes far too far in extrapolating that this is a "groundbreaking" and "bold move" that "signals [a] relaunch iWork... to compete with MS Office and Google Docs."

For Apple can buy domains simply to prevent other firms taking them. It can even buy them because they are apparently common misspellings, which is why "zpple.com" routes to apple.com.

As long ago as 2011, a site named DomainGang counted 543 different website domains owned by Apple. In the years since, there could be hundreds more -- and, significantly, owning a domain name does not mean having to have a website there.

So it is possible that iWork.ai is indeed a sign that Apple is planning a significant relaunch of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. However, if it were, it would presumably be likely to acquire the domains Pages.ai, Numbers.ai, Keynote.ai and perhaps iCloud.ai.

Due to how sites are registered, it's often not possible to definitively determine which businesses own a domain -- and especially not as Apple could use intermediary firms. Currently iCloud.ai and Keynote.ai are registered to companies based in California, Pages.ai to one in Rockford, Illinois, and Numbers.ai to one in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Furthermore, Numbers.ai is listed as being available for sale, which Apple would be somewhat unlikely to do.

Most of the reports claiming that Apple will significantly adopt AI at WWDC 2024 expect the company to do so with its operating systems, specifically iOS, rather than particular apps. An increased AI functionality in the OS, though, will potentially power features in every app.

Rumor Score: Unlikely

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    JonasQuinnJonasQuinn Posts: 2member
    It’s more likely that they’ve purchased it for the same reason that big companies purchase every possible domain, to protect their IP
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 10
    macchelseamacchelsea Posts: 14member
    If Apple has any clue about what AI should be, Siri wouldn't be so broken. Probably just another ploy by Tim Cook to slow down the falling stock prices.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 3 of 10
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,141member
    macchelsea said:
    If Apple has any clue about what AI should be, Siri wouldn't be so broken. Probably just another ploy by Tim Cook to slow down the falling stock prices.

    Your first sentence makes complete sense.  Your second sentence is complete bonkers.
    williamlondonOferwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 10
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,306member
    Probably just another ploy by Tim Cook to slow down the falling stock prices.
    Apple is up 2 percent YTD, stock doofus.

    Ruin your own retirement if you must, but leave “people with access to the internet” off your list of places to spread your witless blather.
    edited February 12 williamlondonOferwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 10
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,886member
    macchelsea said:
    If Apple has any clue about what AI should be, Siri wouldn't be so broken. Probably just another ploy by Tim Cook to slow down the falling stock prices.
    Errnnt. Head back to class -- Apple doesn't manage to its stock price. They manage for delighting the customer and long-term objectives. 
    williamlondonJinTechwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 10
    1348513485 Posts: 347member
    macchelsea said:
    If Apple has any clue about what AI should be, Siri wouldn't be so broken. Probably just another ploy by Tim Cook to slow down the falling stock prices.
    Um, sure, absolutely. 2/10/23 $145, 2/10/24 $190.
    chasmwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 10
    maltzmaltz Posts: 454member
    iAI         
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 10
    maltzmaltz Posts: 454member
    StrangeDays said:
    macchelsea said:
    If Apple has any clue about what AI should be, Siri wouldn't be so broken. Probably just another ploy by Tim Cook to slow down the falling stock prices.
    Errnnt. Head back to class -- Apple doesn't manage to its stock price. They manage for delighting the customer and long-term objectives. 

    I'm not sure I'd go that far.  Indeed, they have a fiduciary responsibility to stockholders to do exactly that.  They're just one of what seems like so few companies lately that haven't lost sight of the fact that one of the best ways to achieve the former is to excel at the latter.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 10
    harrykatsarosharrykatsaros Posts: 76unconfirmed, member
    And yet after 15 years since moving away from iWork 09 I still can’t highlight two non sequential words or sentences by holding down command. A feature common to every other word processing app of the last 4 decades. 
    edited February 13 williamlondon
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