Is Apple starting to focus on iWork?

Over the past few months more and more Apple job listings have begun appearing, what’s interesting is that these seem to suggest a possible next-generation iWork software suite may be in the works.

Looking at these job postings seem to suggest that Apple might already be near the end of the process since they are looking for specialists in quality assurance. One listing was released on May 11, states that Apple is looking for a software quality assurance specialist, this is what the job posting states:

The iWork team is looking for a software QA engineer to work on the next generation of Desktop, Mobile and Web application/services. This position requires a self-motivated individual with strong problem solving skills who can contribute in a dynamic team environment.

• Bug reporting and isolation
• Planning, designing, and executing test cases
• Ensure the successful delivery of a quality product by performing ad hoc and structured tests on a daily basis

Even though we are still waiting for offical news from Apple, these job listings do strongly suggest that something is in the pipeline, after all the current iWork ’09, which includes Pages, Numbers and Keynote, was released way back in 2009 and has only seen minor updates since then.