Microsoft’s brand-new app simplifies Office for your phone

By

Microsoft-Office-Mobile
It's Office, but made easier.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft today dropped a brand-new Office Mobile app that brings Word, Excel, and PowerPoint together in one place. The company calls it a new vision for how people get work done on a phone.

You’ve long been able to use Microsoft Office on iPhone and iPad. But you had to download and install each app individually — like you would on any other platform.

The problem with that, Microsoft says, is that it’s cumbersome on a smartphone. So it is offering a new solution that demonstrates what Office would like like “if first built for mobile devices.”

It is aptly named Office Mobile, and it is specifically designed for phones.

The best of Office at your fingertips

Office Mobile is optimized for simplicity, efficiency, and common mobile needs, Microsoft says. It puts the tools you need on mobile at the forefront of the experience, and gets rid of everything else.

The app combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into one. That means all your Office documents end up in one place, reducing the need to switch between apps, and saving space on your phone.

“We then added new capabilities that harness the strengths of mobile devices, such as the camera, to enable you to create content in uniquely mobile ways,” Microsoft says.

“Finally, we added a new Actions Pane that helps you accomplish many of the common mobile tasks you need to do all from one place.”

Meet Office Mobile for iPhone

You’ll be greeted by all your documents when you first open Office Mobile. And this includes documents you have stored in the cloud, and even those across your organization if using a work account.

You can also access your Sticky Notes to jot down quick reminders and snippets of information you don’t want to forget.

Tapping any one of those documents will open it up inside Office Mobile, regardless of its format. You can also create a new one, or use Actions to create or sign a PDF, scan QR codes, and more.

Office Mobile won’t replace the standalone Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps. You will still need those if the features you’re looking for aren’t available in Office Mobile — or you’re using iPad.

Try Office Mobile today

Office Mobile is currently available as a public preview on Android and iOS. Anyone can try it out for free by signing up for the beta, which requires the TestFlight app on iOS.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.