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Just a day after being released into the App Store, Microsoft's new iPad Apps, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, appear to be quite popular with consumers, ranking as the top three free iPad apps in the App Store, with the redesigned Microsoft OneNote in the number four spot.

Microsoft Word for iPad is ranked as the number five top grossing app, while Excel is ranked twelfth, indicating Microsoft's downloads are raking in some cash in the form of Office 365 subscriptions, which are available within the apps as a $9.99/month or $99/year purchase. Users can also purchase Office 365 subscriptions outside of the app, however, which would not influence App Store charts.

microsoftappstorecharts1.jpg
While Microsoft's apps can be downloaded at no charge and allow documents to be viewed or presented, creating and editing documents requires an Office 365 subscription that also earns Apple a 30 percent cut of each in-app purchase, making the current success of the apps beneficial to both companies.

Microsoft Office apps for the iPad have been a long time coming, with Microsoft first indicating its intention to work on mobile Office apps in 2010. In early 2012, a prototype design of Office for iPad surfaced, but it wasn't until Satya Nadella took over as CEO that the apps actually saw a release.

In the past, Microsoft has used the lack of Office productivity apps on the iPad as a main advertising point for its Surface Tablet, attempting to lure customers to the product on the strength of its popular productivity software. That strategy was largely unsuccessful, however, as the original Surface failed to catch on with consumers.

All three of Microsoft's productivity apps can be downloaded from the App Store for free, with full functionality unlocked through an Office 365 subscription. While Office for iPad requires Office 365, Microsoft yesterday updated Microsoft Office Mobile for iPhone to allow both viewing and editing for free, no subscription required.

- Microsoft Word for iPad [Direct Link]
- Microsoft Excel for iPad [Direct Link]
- Microsoft PowerPoint for iPad [Direct Link]
- Microsoft Office Mobile for iPhone [Direct Link]

Article Link: Microsoft Office Apps Top App Store Charts One Day After Release
 

Dulcimer

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2012
891
688
…and most of them quickly realized that they couldn't actually make any documents :p
 

0815

macrumors 68000
Jul 9, 2010
1,793
1,065
here and there but not over there
downloading is not the same as paying for it ...

I also downloaded it to give it a try, just to see what they came up with. But actually, you can't do anything with it without paying. Officially you can 'read' documents, but only if you have the microsoft drive (or however they call it) - there are no other ways of getting documents in there. I know I can only read, but sort of was hoping to have some decent ways of getting documents in there to read.

So yes, I downloaded, found out that not usable (even for a quick try out) and deleted.

To bad they don't have a measure for the most deleted app .....
 

linuxcooldude

macrumors 68020
Mar 1, 2010
2,480
7,232
I'm guessing most of the apps are actively used by people who already have 365 subscriptions. I'm doubtful they are going to pay $99 unless they are already using it on the desktop by subscription service.
 

nwcs

macrumors 68030
Sep 21, 2009
2,722
5,262
Tennessee
Overall I think this is good news. A win-win for everyone. I'll be curious to see two things: does Apple's free suite stay popular and does Office retain its position 6 months from now after the initial buzz dies down. The update policy for both MS and Apple could make a big difference. If anything I hope this prompts Apple to put out more useful updates more often. And maybe secondarily that MS will rethink the pricing.
 

cheesyappleuser

macrumors 6502a
Apr 5, 2011
557
208
Portugal
Really not surprising. The Office Suite is the main programme used to produce documents - that makes me think why people say Microsoft is losing anything...
However, some of you have a point. $99 per year is much more for me than paying for a standalone app, so, unless Office goes all-365 I won't pay for it. And even so, I might even drop it when I buy a Mac.
 

Stones

macrumors newbie
Jul 10, 2008
8
22
I downloaded the apps out of curiosity but deleted it after 5 minutes. Excel without macros is like a car without the engine.
 

arn

macrumors god
Staff member
Apr 9, 2001
16,362
5,794
downloading is not the same as paying for it ...

I also downloaded it to give it a try, just to see what they came up with. But actually, you can't do anything with it without paying. Officially you can 'read' documents, but only if you have the microsoft drive (or however they call it) - there are no other ways of getting documents in there. I know I can only read, but sort of was hoping to have some decent ways of getting documents in there to read.

So yes, I downloaded, found out that not usable (even for a quick try out) and deleted.

To bad they don't have a measure for the most deleted app .....

It's also near the top of the grossing charts which means people are subscribing/paying

arn
 

danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,462
297
Cumming, GA
Did anybody actually bother reading the article? The following quote indicates that people ARE buying subscriptions, not just downloading.

Microsoft Word for iPad is ranked as the number five top grossing app, while Excel is ranked twelfth, indicating Microsoft's downloads are raking in some cash in the form of Office 365 subscriptions, which are available within the apps as a $9.99/month or $99/year purchase. Users can also purchase Office 365 subscriptions outside of the app, however, which would not influence App Store charts.
 

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
Funny.

I thought Microsoft was way too late to the party to have such a popular app.

Yes. It's "free" to download.

But it's also not $99 specifically to use the app.

For one - if you already subscribe to Office 365, it's free with no additional fees.

Students get a HUGE discount on 4 years of service.

And so on.

Lots of bitter people over silliness. Don't want to use Office on the iPad - then don't. The need to ridicule the app or Microsoft for having a revenue model is ridiculous.
 

wombat94

macrumors member
Oct 15, 2010
71
30
downloading is not the same as paying for it ...

I also downloaded it to give it a try, just to see what they came up with. But actually, you can't do anything with it without paying. Officially you can 'read' documents, but only if you have the microsoft drive (or however they call it) - there are no other ways of getting documents in there. I know I can only read, but sort of was hoping to have some decent ways of getting documents in there to read.

So yes, I downloaded, found out that not usable (even for a quick try out) and deleted.

To bad they don't have a measure for the most deleted app .....

You actually can view documents without OneDrive by using the standard "Open In" function in iOS.

Before I activated my Office for iPad purchase (we were already Office 365 subscribers) I tried to open items that were mail attachments as well as items in Dropbox and Box
 

arcite

macrumors 6502a
Subscription...pass.

If you use your ipad for work, subscription is a small cost for convenience.

Also, there is a student rate. :apple:

----------

Funny.

I thought Microsoft was way too late to the party to have such a popular app.

Yes. It's "free" to download.

But it's also not $99 specifically to use the app.

For one - if you already subscribe to Office 365, it's free with no additional fees.

Students get a HUGE discount on 4 years of service.

And so on.

Lots of bitter people over silliness. Don't want to use Office on the iPad - then don't. The need to ridicule the app or Microsoft for having a revenue model is ridiculous.

Microsoft is after all a software company, and Office Suite is a great piece of software. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Apple and Microsoft. ;):apple:
 

0815

macrumors 68000
Jul 9, 2010
1,793
1,065
here and there but not over there
It's also near the top of the grossing charts which means people are subscribing/paying

arn

Thanks for pointing out that info (guess I need to improve my quick-scan-reading skills) .... good for MS, especially that they get lots of new subscribers and not only existing ones.

You actually can view documents without OneDrive by using the standard "Open In" function in iOS.

Before I activated my Office for iPad purchase (we were already Office 365 subscribers) I tried to open items that were mail attachments as well as items in Dropbox and Box

Thanks - I will give it another try over the weekend. But I guess even with subscription, you won't be able to save to back from where you opened it from (probably due to lack of Apple API support for that) ?
 

Mockenrue

macrumors 6502
Aug 3, 2013
307
83
If nobody is buying, why is Word #4 Top Grossing app? Excel and PPT are also on the list, which means that the rank would be even higher if the in-app purchase was only in one app. This is a win-win for both companies. Microsoft gets more cloud services subscribers, while Apple banks a little profit and improves the productivity of the iPad. Corporate America runs on Office... many of us are acutely aware of that fact ever day when we go to work (like it or not). I probably can't use it anyway because it probably can't access my company's internal drives or SharePoint sites.

[edit: arn beat me to the first point]
 

alexgowers

macrumors 65816
Jun 3, 2012
1,338
892
free downloads do not overpriced subscriptions make.

There are better free apps for iPad than these crippled readers.
 
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