Microsoft Announces Office Universal Apps Preview for Windows 10 Phones, When Will It Be Available?

Tags: microsoft; Office Universal Apps; Windows 10; Windows 10 Technical Preview

BY Janice Tapil Apr 18, 2015 12:54 PM EDT

Microsoft has announced the Office Universal apps preview for Windows 10 smartphone, according to Phone Arena.

The Microsoft Office Apps, which include Word, PowerPoint and Excel. are designed for Windows 10 phones and will be available by the end of the month. According to the Office blog, the general manager for the Office marketing team, Jared Spataro, explained the strategy of the Universal and Desktop apps.

"Our Office Universal apps are designed for on-the-go productivity. They're touch-first, built for tablets and phones, and optimized for viewing, quick edits, notes and mark-up," Spataro wrote.

"On a phone, the Universal apps adapt to the smaller from factor. Commands and control are moved to the bottom of the screen so you can triage your work and make edits one-handed with your thumb. (That may sound like a small thing - wait until you try it. It makes all the difference!)" he added.

In addition, Spataro said that on a tablet, the Universal apps are fluid and fast. They are fantastic for reading and good for "touch and pen-based content creation."

Furthermore, Spataro added that the Universal apps will deliver tailored phone and tablet experiences for "on-the-go productivity," encouraging everyone to try the app. The universal apps for Windows 10 for phones are expected to be available in the Windows 10 Technical Preview by the end of April.

Moreover, according to Engadget, the Windows 10 is not merely an operating system update. It is a unified Windows platform.

"Microsoft has been working on cross-compatible apps even before Windows 8, but it looks like that dream will finally be realized with Windows 10. And that makes plenty of sense since Windows 10 is meant to run across phones, tablets, traditional PCs and even Xbox One," it said.

Meanwhile, the Universal apps for tablets went live in February with the Windows 10 Technical Preview while the Desktop IT Pro and Developer preview for Office 2016 have been launched last month.