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The Office apps for the two smartphone platforms were made available last year, and although these were free to download, using the apps required an Office 365 subscription. The two apps can now be downloaded and used without the need to pay any additional charge.
Microsoft mentions in the apps' update notes that the apps are intended for home use which means it still expects business users to subscribe to the Office 365 plan. However, it would be difficult to restrict business users to use the free apps on their personal devices.
Unlike the Office suite for iPad which comes with three separate apps - Word, PowerPoint and Excel, Office for iPhone and Android comprises of a single app that lets users open, view and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations. The smartphone apps offer basic functionality and are not a replacement for desktop or iPad clients.With the m obile push, Microsoft aims to boost usage of its OneDrive cloud solution as users can save and sync files through the company's virtual storage service. It will also enable it to promote Office 365 and get more people to sign-up for the service. The tech giant certainly wants to give users the ability to make minor edits on their phones for free, while making them switch to a premium option when they want power features on bigger screens.
Following the move, Microsoft Office for mobile is now free for users of smartphones across iOS, Android and Windows Phone platforms.
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