An official version of Microsoft Office for iOS devices may be closer than we think. References to various Office apps for iPhone and iPad recently began appearing on different parts of Microsoft's support site, as first spotted by Mac4Ever and detailed in English by MacRumors. Though no actual details are yet available, the (presumably accidental) leaks to these references show that Microsoft indeed has something for iOS in the works.
Office for iOS has long been rumored, but Microsoft continues to be vague about its actual plans for release. That hasn't stopped the torrent of speculation about the productivity suite, fueling spikes of interest every time someone claims to have new screenshots. Last month, for example, The Verge claimed to have recent images showing various versions of Office, saying the suite would arrive on iOS devices in early 2013.
At this point, it's almost inevitable that the release is coming—it's just a matter of when. Microsoft's French support site references Excel for iPad (while calling it Excel 2013 on the US version), and other parts of the site refer to things like PowerPoint for iPad and Office Mobile for iPhone. For those who can't wait, though, Apple recently released its own update to iWork for iOS, containing boosted compatibility with Office documents created on the Mac.
reader comments
37