Skip to main content

Microsoft reportedly building Office for Android tablets, looking for testers

Several months after Microsoft finally got around to releasing Office for iPad, you won’t be surprised to learn that the computer giant is believed to be prepping a version for Android tablets, too.

Expected to launch later this year, the software will follow in the footsteps of Office for Android smartphones, which landed last summer.

Recommended Videos

People familiar with Microsoft’s plans told The Verge the Redmond-based company is currently organizing a private testing program for the upcoming Android software.

Anyone interested in joining the pre-release testing program – which covers not only Word, Excel, and PowerPoint but also OneNote, Visio, Access, Publisher, and Outlook – can put their name down for consideration at Microsoft’s SharePoint site here. Companies as well as individuals are invited to register, with Microsoft understandably keen to receive feedback from a range of users.

A release date this year means the tablet-focused software will arrive before the touch-optimized Windows version, which isn’t expected to land until sometime in 2015. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said soon after taking over the top position in February that he was keen “to see that great Office experience and my content available everywhere,” a sledgehammer hint that the company’s famous productivity suite was on its way to Android slates.

Office for iPad, meanwhile, garnered a lot of interest from iOS tablet users when it launched a couple of months back, clocking up 12 million downloads in its first week. News of Microsoft’s plan to roll out a similar version for Android tablets comes just days after Google announced a slew of enhancements for its suite of Drive apps, which includes Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Google has also announced it’ll soon pull its Quickoffice apps from the iOS and Android online stores, satisfied that the software’s best features have now been fully incorporated into its Drive apps.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Specs for a budget OnePlus Android tablet just leaked, and they look great
Open Canvas on OnePlus Pad 2 that is also being used as a Windows monitor.

Get ready for a potential game-changer in the budget tablet market. A recent leak from Digital Chat Station, shared by Android Authority, suggests that OnePlus is preparing to launch a new “Standard Edition” tablet with impressive features.

This tablet may feature a large 11.6-inch display with a smooth 144Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2,800 x 2,000 pixels. It is expected to be powered by a new MediaTek Dimensity 8350 processor. It will also come equipped with a substantial 9,520mAh battery that supports 67-watt fast charging, ensuring extended usage hours. So far, all are very promising specs.

Read more
How I made my Android tablet better than a Windows laptop
OnePlus Pad 2 used as a wireless Windows monitor, kept in front of a Keychron K2V2 mechanical keyboard and Logitech MX Master 3S on a table.

Roughly two years ago, I argued how almost every company making Android devices wants an ecosystem like Apple, but they just can't have it! Two years later, I still feel the same, even though brands have landscaped their ecosystems to present better cross-device connectivity (an essence of ecosystems).

However, brands haven't been able to overcome the detachment between Android and Windows yet, which has especially alienated productivity-oriented devices like big and powerful Android tablets from realizing their full potential.

Read more
The future of the Google Pixel Tablet doesn’t look good
Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

Google’s Pixel lineup has been pretty solid lately -- at least, for most of its hardware, anyway. But there’s one Google Pixel device that seems to have flopped so hard that it may end up being a one-off thing, and that’s the Pixel Tablet.

If you’re hoping to hear some news about a proper Pixel Tablet 2, we have some bad news. According to a recent report from Android Headlines, it seems that Google has already canceled plans for a Pixel Tablet 3. But wait! Another report on Android Authority claims that it was actually the Pixel Tablet 2 that was canned, not the Pixel Tablet 3. Considering that you can’t have a third iteration before having a second, I think it’s safe to say that whatever the next version was going to be, we’re not going to see it — at least not for a while.

Read more