New Microsoft Office app now available on Android

Feb 18, 2020 06:50 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft Office apps have been around for a long time on mobile devices, but until now, users were required to download and install Word, Excel, and PowerPoint separately from the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

While former some this was the correct approach given they didn’t want the full suite, but only a specific app like Word or Excel, others found the concept of offering separate apps rather inconvenient, especially because they had to download, install, and update more than just one app.

Microsoft has apparently received the message, so the company recently published an updated version of Microsoft Office that includes all apps previously offered separately.

Available for Android today

The Microsoft Office app is currently offered to Android users only, but there’s a chance Microsoft brings it to the iPhone in the coming weeks as well. An official announcement on this isn’t yet available, but the Google Play Store listing highlights the purpose of this app anyway.

“The Office app combines the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps you know and rely on, with new capabilities that harness the unique strengths of a phone to create a simpler, yet more powerful Office experience on the go. Whether using it for personal or professional reasons, the Office app is designed to be your go-to app for getting work done on a mobile device,” the Play store description reads.

Technically, a Microsoft Office app that combines all the productivity tools that have until now been offered separately also comes in handy to Microsoft in the partnerships the company has with various device manufacturers.

For example, Samsung pre-installs Microsoft Office apps on its Galaxy S models, and offering Word, Excel, and PowerPoint separately has previously been described by many as bloatware. One app that combines them all could make everything more straightforward for everyone, so it remains to be seen when and if this approach is expanded to other platforms as well.