Microsoft released the office apps five weeks ago in preview mode to Android users for testing purposes to over 1,900 different Android Phone models in 83 countries. Finally Microsoft Office apps are now available for Android Users for free , and they can use Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps on their Android Phones.
Kirk Koenigsbauer, Vice President of Microsoft Office Client Applications and Services said in a blog post “I’m pleased to announce the general availability of the new Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps for Android phone. These join our previously released Office apps for Android tablets to complete the Office experience for the millions of Android users around the world.”
MS Office for Android have been available for Android tablets since January, but the phone apps have now been optimized for better user experience on smaller screens. For instance, the Show Ribbon button in Word now prompts menus to show up from the bottom of the screen rather than dropping down from the top as on tablets.
The Microsoft Office apps for Android Phones are available to anyone for free for doing basic tasks such as opening, editing and saving files , but business customers and anyone who wants to use the advanced features will require to unlock the Office 365 subscription.
Ms Office for Android will have built-in integration with OneDrive and will also support Dropbox, Google Drive and Box as well. Moreover, Microsoft has collaborated with over 30 global, regional and local Android Phone manufacturers such as Sony, LG and Samsung to ensure that the office apps come preloaded with the upcoming phones.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps can now be downloaded from Google Play, as well as from the Samsung Galaxy Store worldwide, and from Xiaomi, Baidu and Tencent app stores in China. The Microsoft office apps for Android will require 1GB of RAM and Android 4.4 KitKat or later.