​Office universal apps land in Windows 10 technical preview

Microsoft delivered its first batch of its "universal" Office Apps for the Windows 10 technical preview.

The apps---Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote---can be installed and taken for a spin by developers running Windows 10 in the weeks to come. Word, Excel and PowerPoint are available now for the Windows 10 technical preview with the others coming in the weeks ahead. These Office apps will be available in the Windows Store Beta within the Windows 10 technical preview. For tablet and phone units running Windows 10, the Office apps will be preinstalled.

For Microsoft, its Office apps will be the front-running universal apps. A universal Office app is one that can run on multiple screens and devices with one code line. The approach will be Microsoft's way to attempt to close the app gap on mobile devices.

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Microsoft is attempting to make Office for Windows 10 mobile and touch optimized. The move is overdue given that Microsoft has Office for iOS as well as Android already optimized. The software giant's plan is to connect these universal Office apps to multiple devices as well as big-screen efforts such as the Microsoft Surface Hub.

In a blog post, Microsoft also noted it is working on Office 2016, which will be designed more for a keyboard and mouse arrangement. The suite, a cash cow for Microsoft, will be available in the second half of the year.

See Ed Bott's Hands-on with the Windows 10 January Technical Preview (build 9926)

Here's a look at a few screens for the Windows 10 universal Office apps. The interface doesn't look much different than Microsoft's efforts on iOS and Android.