- Microsoft launched a new mobile Office app that combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These are the details.
Microsoft has launched a new mobile Office app that essentially combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The app is currently in public preview for iOS (already maxed out via TestFlight) and Android.
The Office app combines the existing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint mobile apps into a single app. This brings all of your Office documents together in one place and reduces the need to switch between multiple apps. Plus it significantly reduces the amount of space used on your phone compared to multiple installed apps.
“The new Office mobile app represents our vision for what a productivity solution would look like if first built for mobile devices. In designing this new experience, we first considered how people’s expectations differ when using a phone versus a computer, so we set out to optimize for simplicity, efficiency, and common mobile needs,” Doll added. “Next, we explored how to better incorporate the unique ways that people input data and create content on a mobile device – essentially turning the phone form factor from a liability for doing work into an asset. Finally, we needed to ensure that this app met the high expectations people already have for Office solutions. This solution should feel familiar to the people that know and rely on them today and instill a sense of confidence that they can accomplish their work with the high degree of quality and security that they have come to know.”
Microsoft also added new capabilities that harness the strengths of mobile devices like the camera. You can take a picture of a document and turn it into an editable Word file by pressing a button. Or you can transform a picture of a table into an Excel spreadsheet so you can work with the data. And you can have PowerPoint help you design a presentation by simply selecting the pictures you want to use from your phone. Plus you can creative automatically enhanced digital images of whiteboards and documents with Office Lens features integrated into the app. Microsoft also added a new Actions Pane that helps you accomplish many of the mobile tasks you need to do all from one place.
With the Office app, you can easily get to recent and recommend documents that are stored in the cloud or on your device. Or you can search for documents across your organization if you are using a work account. There is easy access to Sticky Notes so you can set quick reminders and ideas.
From the Home screen, you can view your recent Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files or create a new one.
