Early Excel, Word and PowerPoint ‘universal’ apps available now for Windows Insiders

By Brad Jones Published February 4, 2015

Last month Microsoft announced plans for Windows 10 as part of a flashy presentation on the future of the company’s home computing efforts. Now, Windows 10 Technical Preview users can download pre-release versions of the touch-friendly iterations of Word, Excel and PowerPoint that were announced at the event.

The Microsoft Office suite remains hugely popular for use in work and at home, despite increased competition in recent years from services like Google Docs. In keeping with Microsoft’s strategy of cross-platform equivalence with Windows 10, this version of its Office software attempts to deliver the same experience whether you’re working from your desktop or your mobile.

Recommended Videos

Members of the Windows Insider program will be able to test out early versions of the new Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps today. So long as they’re already running the preview build of Windows 10 released a couple of weeks ago, the new “universal” apps will be available to download from the Windows Store.

These touch-friendly apps take a slightly different approach from the standard Office package, with their focus on delivering a similar experience across different devices rather than offering as comprehensive a program as users might expect from their desktop-centric relation. Central to this is the simplification of the ‘Ribbon’ interface, with many of the tools you would expect to see on-screen at all times moving away from the default toolbar.

As with any change to such a widely used piece of software, it’s something that will turn off many users, even if it’s implemented with the best intentions. It’s obvious why these decisions have been made — to make parity between devices with differently sized screens easier — but whether it can offer the same functionality as the full desktop package remains to be seen.

However, Office purists needn’t be too worried about the future of the software. While these touch-friendly apps are a big focus of Microsoft’s Windows 10 push, they’re far from the be-all and end-all. The more traditional Office 2016 is still on track to launch in 2015.

While members of the Windows Insider program are entitled to an early peek at these new apps now, it won’t be too long before the rest of us get to test them out for ourselves. These touch-friendly Office apps are set to be released before the year is out, so expect to see plenty more on how the software is shaping up ahead of its launch.

Former Contributor

Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

Topics

Computing

I spent a fortune on a Copilot+ PC, and I’ve barely ever touched Microsoft’s AI

Microsoft needs to give Copilot+ PC owners a reason to use Copilot

Copilot

There is a dedicated Copilot key on my ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED. Months after buying the laptop, it may be one of the least important keys on the entire keyboard. My Zenbook UM3406 runs on AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series processor, complete with a dedicated NPU offering up to 50 TOPS of AI performance. That qualifies it as a Copilot+ PC, which makes it a part of what Microsoft once described as the new era for Windows.

AI is already a regular part of my workday. I use it for research, brainstorming, and working through ideas. But rather than relying on something built into the Windows OS, I've relied on the likes of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Computing

I bought into a brighter future, but my digital life bills monthly subscriptions

My day runs on streaming, cloud storage, AI, transport, and smart devices. None of it feels expensive until I realize almost nothing is ever fully paid for

Light, Adult, Female

Before I’ve properly started the day, several companies have already clocked in. Spotify or YouTube Premium handles the music, Google One keeps my files available, and an AI subscription is waiting in another tab to help me work faster.

Most of these charges earn their place. They save time, remove friction, and keep the day moving. I barely notice them until I think about what would stop working if one payment didn’t go through.

Computing

What happens when AI detectors fail? Researchers say we must be trained to spot fake AI faces

Researchers say spotting AI faces may soon depend more on people than software

Zuckerberg Deepfake

Artificial intelligence has become remarkably good at creating fake human faces. So good, in fact, that the old tricks people relied on - counting fingers, spotting warped earrings, or looking for distorted backgrounds - are quickly becoming obsolete. According to a new study highlighted by the BBC, the next line of defence may not be a better AI detector at all. It might simply be a better-trained human.

Researchers from the University of Aberdeen, working alongside Australia's National University, found that people can dramatically improve their ability to distinguish AI-generated faces from real ones after a relatively short period of structured training. Instead of hunting for obvious visual glitches, participants were taught to recognise subtle patterns that modern image generators still struggle to replicate consistently.