Excel, PowerPoint, Word for Android and Windows 10 Tablets

Excel, PowerPoint, and Word are available for Google Android tablets and in preview for Windows 10 tablets. Excel for Android tablets is shown here.

The Android applications will be useful for mobile workers who need to view and revise documents while offline. Similar applications have been available from Microsoft for Android phones, but not for devices with larger screens. The applications are supported on tablets running Android KitKat (4.4) with an ARM-based processor, 1GB or more of RAM, and a screen size of seven inches or larger. Editing for work requires an active Office 365 business subscription with mobile use rights, such as Office 365 Business, ProPlus, E3, or E4. The Excel, PowerPoint, and Word applications are available on the Google Play store as of Jan. 2015.

Excel, PowerPoint, and Word universal apps for Windows 10 tablets and similar devices previewed to members of the Windows 10 technical preview program in Feb. 2015. The universal apps are like those for iPads and Android tablets, but they have some distinctive features. Notably, an Insights research pane enables users to quickly look up highlighted phrases in online sources such as Bing and Wikipedia. The universal apps will be preloaded on Windows 10 phones and small tablets, and some capabilities (such as viewing) will be free, but an Office 365 commercial subscription will be required for business use of their full feature sets. The universal apps will probably arrive for production use in the fourth quarter of 2015. A separate Office 2016 desktop suite release is also expected at that time.