Everything you need to know about Microsoft’s Office application after its official release

On a certain day, all users could view and edit “Google Docs” files from one place through Google Drive. However, Google later divided the service into multiple apps or services. Now, Microsoft is doing the opposite. The company has officially announced the launch of its unified app for its well-known applications Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. In other words, it has combined these applications into one app and named it “Office”. The app is currently available for all Android users. In this article, we will discuss the features of the app, what it offers to users, the company’s goals behind this integration, and much more.

First: The lifecycle of the new Office app

For the first time, we saw the new Office app from Microsoft in January of last year 2019. The company announced the availability of a limited trial version of the app on Android. Then, in November of the same year, the company made the first preview version of the app available to the public. This made us believe, or rather confirmed, that Microsoft was close to launching its Office app in its official and final version. This indeed happened when the company officially released the app on the Google Play Store.

Related: All Office suite apps in a new single app for Android and iPhone phones.

Second: Availability of the Office app

Unfortunately, Microsoft has stated that this launch currently supports phones running Android version 6.0 or higher. Therefore, the Office app does not support tablets, Chromebook devices, or the iOS operating system. When asked about the release date for other devices and operating systems, the company stated that it does not have answers on this matter, but we believe that support will be coming soon.

Third: Introduction to the Office app

As mentioned earlier, this app combines Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a single app and interface. It is frustrating to have many apps on your phone, especially when their usage is limited. The mentioned three apps come by default on all Android smartphones, and having them in one app is very convenient.

Additionally, the Office app comes with new capabilities that harness the unique strengths of the phone to create a simpler and more powerful experience on the go. Whether you are using the app for personal or professional reasons, it will be your favorite app for getting work done due to its precise design and development for this purpose.

Fourth: All features of the Office app

Let’s move on to the most important part, which is the fantastic features of this app. As soon as the app was launched on the Google Play Store, thousands downloaded it, and it received highly positive reviews. It offers the following key features:

Main features of the Office app:

• Access the most commonly used tools for working with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
• Support for creating and editing documents collaboratively in real-time, with all changes visible to everyone working on the document.
• Use of templates to simplify creating resumes, budgets, or other documents without requiring expertise.
• Ability to store Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files in your cloud storage, on your device, or on enterprise devices, especially useful for business accounts.

Other unique and purposeful features for creating documents with ease:

• Support for taking a picture of a document and converting it into an editable Word file.
• Full support for scanning tables into Excel from an image and working with the data from there.
• Create presentations with simple steps and clicks, using your own images.
• Full support for Office Lens, such as creating digital images of whiteboards and documents.
• Transfer files between your phone and computer, or instantly share files between nearby devices.
• If you have PDF files that need signing, simply use the app for this task.
• Quickly jot down notes and sync them with Windows 10, with full support for scanning QR codes.

Fifth: Downloading the Office app

As mentioned earlier, this app is currently available only for all phones running Android version 6.0 or higher. Any user can download the app for free and start using it immediately, accessing their cloud-saved files by logging in with a Microsoft account for OneDrive or SharePoint. Logging in with a personal, work, or educational account via an Office 365 subscription will unlock additional features.

Download Office app on Android.

Final word:

This was the topic of our article for today. We believe that Microsoft’s step in this direction is the right path, as it is annoying to have multiple apps on our phones. Before we conclude, there is no word from Microsoft about intending to close the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps in favor of the new Office app. However, we hope that this transition will happen after all features of these apps are available in the new Office app. In conclusion, have you installed the app? Tell us about your experience and initial thoughts.