Microsoft Leaks References to 'Office Mobile for iPhone', 'Excel for iPad' and 'PowerPoint for iPad'

MacRumors · Dec 10, 2012, 12:50 PM

Building upon a series of reports about Microsoft's apparent efforts to bring its Office productivity suite to iOS, The Verge last month shared a few screenshots and noted that the suite would be offered in early 2013 as a set of free apps with viewing abilities that could be upgraded with basic editing tools through a Microsoft 360 subscription. Microsoft has, however, been rather cryptic in its public comments on the Office for iOS project, leaving a number of questions about just what the company's plans are.

As noted by Mac4ever, references to several Office for iOS applications have begun creeping into Microsoft's support site, albeit as product tags that appear to have been applied improperly to support articles.

One example is a document addressing custom numeric formats in Excel. On the support site for the United States, the document is listed as applying to Excel 2013, while on the French support site it is incorrectly listed as applying to Excel for iPad. Searches for similar phrases throughout Microsoft's support site yield a number of other references, including "Excel for iPad", "PowerPoint for iPad", and "Office Mobile for iPhone".

While the appearance of these new product tags doesn't offer any additional information on Microsoft's plans, it does seem to confirm the products' existence and that the company is working toward building out support site infrastructure for them ahead of their debut.

Article Link: Microsoft Leaks References to 'Office Mobile for iPhone', 'Excel for iPad' and 'PowerPoint for iPad'

Aluminum213 · Dec 10, 2012, 12:52 PM

Too bad their badly gimped versions that require a subscription

No thanks

jabingla2810 · Dec 10, 2012, 12:54 PM

This will change the way people see the iPad.

KdParker · Dec 10, 2012, 12:55 PM

Lets see what they can come up with....

ZacNicholson · Dec 10, 2012, 12:56 PM

i like pages, numbers, and keynote better

camnchar · Dec 10, 2012, 12:58 PM

I hope this heralds the return of Clippy.

AirThis · Dec 10, 2012, 12:59 PM

I've become a Microsoft Office junkie. I'm hooked and can't get off it.

Dwalls90 · Dec 10, 2012, 12:59 PM

I don't like Apple's iWork, and I completely use Apple software wherever possible. It's nice that it hooks into iCloud though.

Being an Office user on both OS X and Windows, this could be a great development. But I see it being both very expensive, and it will probably lack functionality.

Risco · Dec 10, 2012, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZacNicholson

i like pages, numbers, and keynote better

I would rather pull out my eyes and put them on cocktail sticks than use those apps. This is one thing that MS has wrapped up, leave it to the professionals.

stridemat · Dec 10, 2012, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabingla2810

This will change the way people see the iPad.

Exactly. If they offer a fully baked office programme, fully compatible with existing office documents then for the Enterprise, iPad use will explode.

Black Magic · Dec 10, 2012, 01:01 PM

Subscription based to edit? I'll pass. Is Office really needed these days?

The greedy monster that is Microsoft rises from the depths of the sea. Tokyo is that way!

pgiguere1 · 01:19 PM

Microsoft Office for iOS. Only $19.99*!

*$6/month Office 365 subscription required for all features that matter.

Risco · Dec 10, 2012, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Magic

Subscription based to edit? I'll pass. Is Office really needed these days?

The greedy monster that is Microsoft rises from the depths of the sea. Tokyo is that way!

Microsoft greedy? Sorta pot, kettle, black if you ask me...

gpat · Dec 10, 2012, 01:03 PM

In these occasions, I think that there is someone purposely leaking the rumor, then picking up a bag of pop corn and enjoying the news and comments.

Yes, I'm talking to you.

herocero · Dec 10, 2012, 01:06 PM

yes this will be huge for iOS in general.

Yet I can't help but feel there would be a LOT of great word processor/spreadsheet/presentation applications (on all platforms) if there was better open document support that people and businesses actually use. Word compatibility in Pages was never that great for complex documents (headers, footers, TOC, etc.), Excel will never be replaced because of all those business critical VBA scripts. it's the worst kind of vendor lock in. rant over, thanks for listening.

AppleScruff1 · Dec 10, 2012, 01:07 PM

Hopefully Apple can do a good job job with their own office suite. Just like they did with maps.

Allenbf · Dec 10, 2012, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Magic

Subscription based to edit? I'll pass. Is Office really needed these days?

The greedy monster that is Microsoft rises from the depths of the sea. Tokyo is that way!

My daughter has to have MS Office for school. She wants a laptop but I'm not willing to pay for it, if MS can release a decent version for iOS, I'll buy it and she can use it on her iPad. The $$ for the app will no doubt be cheaper than a laptop.

ChristianJapan · 03:36 PM

If it really render all the PPT files equally to desktop and keeps my beloved Pivot Table on iPad I would even pay a subscription... Because the the iPad could replace my laptop/desktop.
Today those two file types are the most used in enterprise with no real good alternative.
But: I fear Office/PPT/Excel will be quite reduced in functionality down to uselessness.

barkomatic · Dec 10, 2012, 01:11 PM

If the subscription bit it true, I'll also take a pass. I'd rather pay $20 outright for Word on iOS with full functionality than have to pay yet another monthly fee.

Westside guy · Dec 10, 2012, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aluminum213

Too bad their badly gimped versions that require a subscription

Home users probably aren't the target demographic here - and a lot of offices will already be fully tied into Office 365. If collaboration with other users is supported, this will probably relegate iWork into a niche role (more than it already is, anyway).

I'd love it if we could use iWork for this sort of thing, but Apple's cloud-based collaboration tools simply do not exist. Synching between devices is nice; but sharing with other users is a bigger deal. Having to "share" by sending documents via email to other people is a throwback to 1995 - hopefully Apple plans on remedying that soon. Heck, even tying directly into Dropbox would work... but that's not going to happen.

Renzatic · Dec 10, 2012, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpat

In these occasions, I think that there is someone purposely leaking the rumor, then picking up a bag of pop corn and enjoying the news and comments.

Yes, I'm talking to you.

...how did you...

smulji · Dec 10, 2012, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Magic

Subscription based to edit? I'll pass. Is Office really needed these days?

The greedy monster that is Microsoft rises from the depths of the sea. Tokyo is that way!

One billion Office users worldwide will say it's definitely needed - especially among enteprise / business users and college users, where document compatibility is extremely important. Besides, other than Keynote, Pages & Numbers don't hold a candle to Word & Excel - especially Excel.

gotluck · Dec 10, 2012, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Magic

Subscription based to edit? I'll pass. Is Office really needed these days?

The greedy monster that is Microsoft rises from the depths of the sea. Tokyo is that way!

Bahaha you're on an apple site bro! No one has higher margins than apple.

a.gomez · Dec 10, 2012, 01:37 PM

great - because the garbage coming out of the marketing departments was not bad enough when they were on actual computers. Can not wait to see what they make on their little toys.

MacsRgr8 · Dec 10, 2012, 01:39 PM

If it gets the iCloud integration I will buy it.
If not? Then not.

Dec 10, 2012, 12:50 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Microsoft Leaks References to 'Office Mobile for iPhone', 'Excel for iPad' and 'PowerPoint for iPad' Building upon a series of reports about Microsoft's apparent efforts to bring its Office productivity suite to iOS, The Verge last month shared a few screenshots and noted that the suite would be offered in early 2013 as a set of free apps with viewing abilities that could be upgraded with basic editing tools through a Microsoft 360 subscription. Microsoft has, however, been rather cryptic in its public comments on the Office for iOS project, leaving a number of questions about just what the company's plans are. As noted by Mac4ever, references to several Office for iOS applications have begun creeping into Microsoft's support site, albeit as product tags that appear to have been applied improperly to support articles. One example is a document addressing custom numeric formats in Excel. On the support site for the United States, the document is listed as applying to Excel 2013, while on the French support site it is incorrectly listed as applying to Excel for iPad. Searches for similar phrases throughout Microsoft's support site yield a number of other references, including "Excel for iPad", "PowerPoint for iPad", and "Office Mobile for iPhone". While the appearance of these new product tags doesn't offer any additional information on Microsoft's plans, it does seem to confirm the products' existence and that the company is working toward building out support site infrastructure for them ahead of their debut. Article Link: Microsoft Leaks References to 'Office Mobile for iPhone', 'Excel for iPad' and 'PowerPoint for iPad'
	0

Dec 10, 2012, 12:54 PM	#3
jabingla2810 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Oct 2008	This will change the way people see the iPad. __________________ 2.4 Alu Macbook 2GB 250GB
	7

Dec 10, 2012, 12:55 PM	#4
KdParker macrumors 68000 Join Date: Oct 2010	Lets see what they can come up with.... __________________ 16g iPhone5 Black ; 16g iPhone5 White; 15" retina - MBP 2.6 GHZ 16 RAM; iPad4 retina
	0

Dec 10, 2012, 12:56 PM	#5
ZacNicholson macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Indiana	i like pages, numbers, and keynote better __________________ follow me on twitter @zac_nicholson watch my youtube www.youtube.com/mrzacnicholson 2011 13" MBP, iPhone 4 (jailbroken), iPad 3 32 GB Verizon(jailbroken), Apple tv 2(jailbroken)
	18

Dec 10, 2012, 12:58 PM	#6
camnchar macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SLC, Utah	I hope this heralds the return of Clippy. __________________ Apple //c, 1 MHz, 128k RAM, 5.25" floppy drive, 1-button mouse
	8

Dec 10, 2012, 12:52 PM	#2
Aluminum213 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2012	Too bad their badly gimped versions that require a subscription No thanks
	7

Dec 10, 2012, 12:59 PM	#7
AirThis macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2012	I've become a Microsoft Office junkie. I'm hooked and can't get off it. __________________ Mac Mini 2009 - Iphone 4 16GB - rMBP 2.6 - Time Capsule 2TB
	5

Dec 10, 2012, 12:59 PM	#8
Dwalls90 macrumors 68040 Join Date: Feb 2009	I don't like Apple's iWork, and I completely use Apple software wherever possible. It's nice that it hooks into iCloud though. Being an Office user on both OS X and Windows, this could be a great development. But I see it being both very expensive, and it will probably lack functionality. __________________ MacBook Pro 2820QM + iPhone 5 + iPad 3 Jailbreaking An iOS Device - iOS Themes
	4

Dec 10, 2012, 01:01 PM	#11
Black Magic macrumors regular Join Date: Sep 2012	Subscription based to edit? I'll pass. Is Office really needed these days? The greedy monster that is Microsoft rises from the depths of the sea. Tokyo is that way! __________________ iPhone 5 64GB (Black) \| MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011) \| iPad Mini \| Apple TV \| Airport Extreme
	5

Dec 10, 2012, 01:01 PM	#12
pgiguere1 macrumors 65816 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Montreal, Canada	Microsoft Office for iOS. Only $19.99! $6/month Office 365 subscription required for all features that matter. Last edited by pgiguere1; Dec 10, 2012 at 01:19 PM.
	17

Dec 10, 2012, 01:03 PM	#14
gpat macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Italy	In these occasions, I think that there is someone purposely leaking the rumor, then picking up a bag of pop corn and enjoying the news and comments. Yes, I'm talking to you. __________________ 13" MBP 2011, Galaxy Note 2 (oh noes i automatically become an apple hater) (Sorry for bad english, not my mother tongue!)
	3

Dec 10, 2012, 01:06 PM	#15
herocero macrumors member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: down on the upside	yes this will be huge for iOS in general. Yet I can't help but feel there would be a LOT of great word processor/spreadsheet/presentation applications (on all platforms) if there was better open document support that people and businesses actually use. Word compatibility in Pages was never that great for complex documents (headers, footers, TOC, etc.), Excel will never be replaced because of all those business critical VBA scripts. it's the worst kind of vendor lock in. rant over, thanks for listening.
	5

Dec 10, 2012, 01:07 PM	#16
AppleScruff1 macrumors 601 Join Date: Feb 2011	Hopefully Apple can do a good job job with their own office suite. Just like they did with maps.
	6

Dec 10, 2012, 01:10 PM	#18
ChristianJapan macrumors 68030 Join Date: May 2010 Location: 東京	If it really render all the PPT files equally to desktop and keeps my beloved Pivot Table on iPad I would even pay a subscription... Because the the iPad could replace my laptop/desktop. Today those two file types are the most used in enterprise with no real good alternative. But: I fear Office/PPT/Excel will be quite reduced in functionality down to uselessness. __________________ I support the MacRumors Blood Drive! Last edited by ChristianJapan; Dec 10, 2012 at 03:36 PM. Reason: PPT, not POT; spellchecker ...
	0

Dec 10, 2012, 01:11 PM	#19
barkomatic macrumors 68030 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Manhattan	If the subscription bit it true, I'll also take a pass. I'd rather pay $20 outright for Word on iOS with full functionality than have to pay yet another monthly fee.
	0

Dec 10, 2012, 01:37 PM	#24
a.gomez macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2008	great - because the garbage coming out of the marketing departments was not bad enough when they were on actual computers. Can not wait to see what they make on their little toys. __________________ 30 Cinema display, macmini i5 2.5, 16gig, OCZ V2 240GB SSD, MiniStack 2TB X2 VAIO Z i7-QM MacPro 8Core 2.4Xeon
	0

Dec 10, 2012, 01:39 PM	#25
MacsRgr8 macrumors 604 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: The Netherlands	If it gets the iCloud integration I will buy it. If not? Then not. __________________ Steve Jobs. 1955 - 2011. My Hero.
	0

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