Microsoft has refreshed its Office suite for iPad, while launching brand new apps for iPhone and Android tablets. The refresh brings some big changes to the service, with users no longer requiring an Office 365 subscription to edit and store documents.
The updated iPad apps, available for download starting today, will allow users free access to features that previously required an Office 365 subscription. Namely, the new app lets users create, edit and store documents for free, and also allows them to grab their files from Dropbox as well as the company’s own OneDrive service.
The iOS app is also now universal, meaning it supports the iPhone (replacing the previous Office Mobile iPhone hub). Users are now presented with three separate apps for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, all of which have been optimized for the smaller smartphone display.
They have all the same features found on the iPad version, but with a slightly different UI layout and added features such as a new easy-to-read view that eliminates the need to pan around a document in Word. The new iOS apps are available for devices running iOS 7 or later.
The company has also started accepting signups for the Android version of its Office apps. Designed for tablets, the apps look and function similarly to the iPad versions of the software. Users will need to be running Android 4.4 KitKat and up to make use of the apps, which are expected to receive a full launch early next year.
Lastly, Microsoft has confirmed that it is working on touch-optimized apps for Windows 10, scheduled to launch in 2015.
Source: Microsoft
