Microsoft unveils universal Office apps

THOSE shiny new Microsoft Office apps are finally coming to Windows smartphones and tablets.

Microsoft revealed its new universal Office apps for Windows Phones and tablets Friday. When the apps become available later this month, it will be the first time Windows Phone users have had dedicated apps for Word, Excel and Powerpoint that closely resemble their desktop counterparts.

In keeping with Microsoft's Windows 10 strategy, the new tablet and phone apps are universal, meaning they share the same code base though there are differences in the user interface to account for different screen sizes.

On the phone side, the apps look and feel similar to their Android and iOS counterparts. One change Microsoft says is particularly significant though is shifting many of the commands and controls to the bottom of the display in order to squeeze as much one-handed productivity out of them as possible.

Likewise, the tablet apps are optimized two-handed activities: reading, marking up documents with a stylus and more expansive gestures.

Those who have hybrid devices — like Microsoft's Surface — that have both touchscreen displays and mouse and keyboard functionality, will be able to run either the tablet or desktop version of the apps, though Windows will default to desktop apps for devices with screens larger than 10 inches.

Microsoft released the touch-friendly desktop versions of the Office apps earlier this year, and Microsoft says these apps "will offer our richest feature set ever for professional content creation," when they are officially released later this year.

As with other Office releases, the new Windows Phone and tablet apps will first appear as preview versions, meaning you'll need the Windows 10 Technical Preview installed on your phone or tablet. Despite the preview label, Microsoft says major feature changes are unlikely, and most user feedback will go toward stability improvements and bug fixes.