Microsoft's unified Office app is now available for iPad
Microsoft's Office app -- a single app combining Word, Excel and PowerPoint features -- is available for iPads from the Apple App Store as of today, February 16. Microsoft officials said earlier this month to expect this app to show up in the App Store, but didn't say when that would happen.
The Office app, like its iPhone, Windows and Android complements, is meant to provide some of the most-used features from Word, Excel and PowerPoint, along with some related capabilities. The Office app also allows users to create PDFs, convert screenshots to PDF or PPT; insert notes into PDFs and more.
Microsoft made the unified Office app available for iOS and Android last February.
The new Office app for iPad requires iOS 13.0 or later. The Office app is a free download from the App Store. To unlock more than basic functionality, users will need to subscribe to Microsoft 365 personal ($6.99 per month) or Microsoft 365 Family ($9.99 per month). On an iPad 10.1-inch (or larger), a subscription is required to create and edit documents, as is outlined in the App Store description. (Users with mobile devices with screens smaller than 10.1 inches can create and edit documents without signing into a Microsoft subscription.)
Microsoft's Office mobile app was codenamed "Union": This app was similar to -- but, according to Microsoft -- different from the unified Office app that Microsoft made available to Samsung Galaxy users a couple of years ago. That app also was a lightweight bundle of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Microsoft's goal in creating these lightweight, combined Office apps was to address the needs of users for whom full versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on their mobile devices was overkill in terms of features and download size. Microsoft also integrated its Lens technology into this app to make it easier for users to convert images into Word and Excel documents, scan PDFs and capture whiteboards. The app also is meant to simplify the process of making quick notes, signing PDFs and transferring files between devices.