Download from wps.com. Requirements: macOS 10.12+ on paper, dual-core, 2 GB RAM, 4 GB disk. Apple Silicon M1–M4 and Intel are both called out on the download center.
Mac-specific notes
- Gatekeeper: open System Settings → Privacy & Security if macOS blocks a freshly downloaded app — still only do this for the official file.
- Default apps: Get Info → Open with → Change All for PDF/DOCX if WPS grabbed them.
- iCloud vs WPS Cloud: pick one brain. Duplicate sync folders create “which copy is true?” disasters.
- Keynote users: PPTX export from Keynote still opens; complex builds may flatten.
Gatekeeper
Download from wps.com. If macOS says the app cannot be opened, System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway — only for the file you just fetched from Kingsoft. Do not apply that habit to random DMGs.
Apple Silicon
Native M1–M4 is the point of the current Mac build. If Activity Monitor shows Rosetta and fans on a trivial DOCX, you grabbed an old Intel-only build. Re-download.
Files, iCloud, Desktop & Documents sync
iCloud Desktop sync plus WPS Cloud plus Dropbox on the same folder is how you get three copies and zero truth. Pick one. For thesis: a folder that is on-disk (not evicted) and Time Machine on a local disk.
Defaults
Get Info → Open with → Change All for PDF and DOCX. Repeat after major WPS updates; some builds recapture types. Association guide.
Keynote / Pages
Export PPTX/DOCX from Apple apps, then WPS. Native Pages is not DOCX. Charts from Keynote can become pictures; do not expect to edit the chart data in WPS.
Handoff and iCloud Drive
A file in iCloud Drive that is not downloaded will fail in the same way OneDrive Files On-Demand fails on Windows. Pin working folders online+on-disk. Time Machine is the adult backup; iCloud is a sync. They are not synonyms.
Living next to Word for Mac
You can. Set defaults explicitly or both will fight. If your workplace standard is Word, WPS is a viewer/editor for personal files — do not let it own .docx on a work Mac.