Microsoft launches free Office apps for iPad, iPhone and Android

Microsoft’s Office suite of applications for iPad, iPhone, and Android is now free In a surprise move, Microsoft has announced that it will allow iPad, iPhone and Android users to use its Office applications for free.

The suite of applications, which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint, is one of the most lucrative parts of Microsoft’s business. During the last fiscal year it generated nearly a third of the company’s revenue – about $26 billion (£16bn) of $87 billion (£55bn) in total.

Microsoft offers both a desktop-based version of Office, which costs around £110 for the Home edition, and a cloud-based version called Office 365, which is primarily accessed over the internet and requires a subscription costing £8 a month.

However, the company announced today that customers on any device can now create and edit Office content via the web on their smartphone or tablet without a Office 365 subscription.

This means that users just need to download the Office app onto their iPhone, iPad or Android device and sign in using a Microsoft Account. They will then be able to view, edit, create and print Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents for free.

Office 365 subscribers will continue to get some advantages. For example, they will have access to premium features like track changes in Word, pivot tables in Excel and presenter view in PowerPoint. They will also get unlimited OneDrive storage, Dropbox integration and 60 Skype world calling minutes per month.

However, the core Office experience, which until now has been tightly contained within Microsoft’s paywall, will now be available on almost any tablet or smartphone for free.

“Anytime someone has an idea or an inspiration, we want to empower them to take action,” said John Case, corporate vice president, Office, Microsoft.

“With over a billion Office customers worldwide, and over 40 million downloads on the iPad, it’s clear that Office applications are what people want to use to get things done.”

The move suggests a dramatic shift in strategy for Microsoft. The aim seems to be to get more people using Office on mobile, without cannibalising sales of the PC and Mac versions of the software.

It is a risky move, however, as the line between computers and mobile devices is becoming increasingly blurred, and Microsoft will need to provide a compelling reason for people to continue to dish out for the premium features.