Not feeling old yet? Office for iPad completes 10 years since its launch

Despite the constant influx of new and disappearing apps in the mobile ecosystem, Microsoft Office for iPad remains a significant milestone as it celebrates its ten-year anniversary since its release.

Despite being launched nearly three decades ago in 1990, the original MS Office, the release of Office for iPad marked a significant achievement for the company. Not only was it the first version of Office designed for tablet devices, but it also coincided with Satya Nadella’s first public appearance as Microsoft’s CEO on March 27, 2014.

The link for the video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds9ZwEryDWc

In the past, the Office suite was accessible on iPhone and Android devices through a single app called Office Mobile. However, Microsoft later introduced three separate apps – Word, Excel, and PowerPoint – as part of Office for iPad. Both Apple and Microsoft’s CEOs celebrated this release on their respective Twitter (now X) accounts.

During the announcement, Microsoft stated that the apps have the same powerful features and recognizable appearance that is synonymous with Office, but also provide a superior touch experience specifically designed for the iPad. The company elaborated that the apps maintain the familiar interface of Office on Windows and Mac, but prioritize touch functionality, and further added:

The large touch areas on the Ribbon and in overlay menus make it simple to create, edit and format documents using only touch. Resize and rotate objects like pictures with touch-friendly handles. When you hold and move the objects, text flows smoothly around them. No keyboard and mouse required.

Initially, Office for iPad was available in 135 countries and supported 29 languages. It was compatible with iPads running iOS 7 or later. While users could view, share, or present Office content for free, they needed an Office 365 (now Microsoft 365) subscription to access the full range of features, such as creating and editing documents.

Microsoft removed the price barrier a few months later in November, enabling users to freely create and edit Office documents. They also launched individual Office apps for iPhone and Android, similar to their existing iPad app. Surprisingly, Office for iPad had accumulated over 40 million downloads during that period.

Microsoft’s Place in the Mobile Market

Despite its efforts, Microsoft ultimately couldn’t compete with Google’s Android and Apple iOS in the mobile operating system market. In an interview, Nadella acknowledged that it was a difficult decision to discontinue Windows Phone and mentioned that there may have been potential solutions to make it successful.

Despite losing the operating system game, the company persevered in developing what is essential for smartphones: apps. Its extensive collection of apps for Android and iOS/iPadOS, including Office, has been crucial to its triumph in the smartphone industry.

SMS Organizer, a project initially developed by Microsoft Garage, was released on Google Play in 2017 and has since surpassed a million downloads. Other Microsoft-created apps, including Authenticator, Edge, Teams, Remote Desktop, and Microsoft 365, can also be found on Google Play with download numbers ranging from tens of millions to over a billion.

In order to further connect and integrate with Android devices, Microsoft introduced Phone Link for Windows. This feature allows for the synchronization of notifications, texts, and calls from your Android smartphone. Additionally, it enables the transfer of photos and screen mirroring for compatible devices. While iPhone compatibility is also available, certain features may have limited support.

Despite this, Microsoft now has the opportunity to venture into a new territory with the introduction of Apple’s spatial computing headset, Vision Pro. A number of Microsoft-created applications are already accessible on visionOS, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.