Numbers Creator Studio file compatibility and collaboration

At present, it doesn't seem like there is any changes to the file structure, and Numbers 15.1 and 14.x files are entirely compatible.

No new functions (at least that I've seen) have been added to 15.1, so there's no reason to expect backwards compatibility problems.

I haven't spent much time yet looking at the Creator Studio/AI-based elements in 15.1, but they appear to hinge around creating content, not active integration, so don't rely on running in 15.1, so I would expect content generated by Creator Studio to still work (e.g. tables and other Creator Studio-curated content will open in 14.x just fine)

The new 15.x versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are still free. It's just the "Premium content and features" that require a subscription. I have no problem opening a Numbers file saved in 15.1 in Numbers 14 on another Mac running Tahoe.

You can continue to use the free versions as you always have. No subscription is needed at all and the documents are backwards compatible so a saved document with the new version can be opened in the old version.

1. Yes, all documents are backwards compatible.
2. Yes, you can open any previously created document with a subscription including with a template and any AI created content.
3. What mess are you referring to? I do not know what mess of the free versions you are referring to that Apple needs to address. Is there anything at all that you can't do now with the free versions (including 15.1) that you could do before? I have found nothing.

You do not have to pay anything to use the new 15.1 versions and there is no reason not to update. The only reason why you would not update is if your Mac is not running iOS 15.6 or later where you would not have the option. In any case, it does not matter because you can still continue to use the old version.

Danny Whitehead wrote:

3. What mess are you referring to? I do not know what mess of the free versions you are referring to that Apple needs to address. Is there anything at all that you can't do now with the free versions (including 15.1) that you could do before? I have found nothing.

The fact there are two versions on the App Store, instead of just updating the 'non-ACS' version of Numbers to version 15, but without the ACS-only stuff.

Ok, I guess I just didn't see how that was a mess. After the update using Mac OS 15.6 or greater, you should now be seeing only 1 version of Pages, Keynote, Numbers, etc, in the App Store. If that was not the case, then you would see 2 versions at all times and I could see how that would be confusing. Those with Mac OS pros to 15.6 will also only see 1 version.