Office for android, iOS move back to late 2014? New apps for Windows slabs to return 1st

Office for android, iOS move back to late 2014?

New apps for Windows slabs to return 1st

Post-PC professionals who hope for a version of Microsoft office for his or her android or iOS fondleslabs could have to be compelled to wait another year or a lot of, if new info supposedly leaked from Redmond proves to be correct.

ZDNet's mary Jo Foley reports that a confidential supply has shown her what appearance to be AN authentic roadmap particularisation the primary few phases of "Gemini," the hole-and-corner project geared toward delivering successive major refresh of workplace.

If that document is correct, then Microsoft is not aiming to ship "iOS/Android support for Office" till fall of 2014, at the earliest.

That late unleash date is certain to frustrate eager Redmond-watchers, several of whom had been expecting the software big to deliver mobile workplace apps early this year. Some sources have even gone as so much on cite dates – March 2013 for iOS, they said, and will for android.

Microsoft itself has remained mum on the matter, tho' it's confirmed to El Reg within the past that "Office can work across Windows Phone, iOS, and android."

What that actually means that, however, no one is aware of, and also the phrase "iOS/Android support for Office" does not shed a lot of light-weight on the matter. perhaps Microsoft is developing full-fledged versions of Word, Excel, et al. that run on phones and tablets. or even "support" simply means that stripped viewing apps for office documents. it's currently like we cannot conclude till next year.

There is a minimum of one major office update attributable to arrive in 2013, however, assuming the leaked roadmap is correct. the primary "wave" of Gemini can reportedly deliver Windows Store versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for Windows eight and Windows RT by this Oct.

These app-ified versions of the core office elements are designed to enhance the desktop versions, instead of replace them, and that they are a lot of touch-centric than their adult cousins.

If the present version of the OneNote app found within the Windows Store is something to travel by, which means they're going to supply solely basic writing and viewing practicality, however they're going to have clean, pared-down UIs that cater to poke and swiping – that could be a sensible issue, given however lacking the desktop office 2013 apps' bit controls are.

After that, successive wave of Gemini reportedly will not return till April 2014. That milestone is claimed to incorporate a replacement version of office for mac – another sensible issue, since the last OS X version shipped wayyy back in Oct 2010 – and a refresh of office for Windows Phone.

Another issue on the menu for April 2014 one thing known as "Office RT," that could be a bit mystifying, on condition that all Windows RT devices already return bundled with a version of office 2013 for ARM. It's attainable that Microsoft plans to feature a lot of elements to the current version of the suite, like a much-needed Outlook shopper.

Only finally of this – that most likely means that Oct 2014 – can we tend to finally see some quite office apps for iOS and android, no matter type they're going to eventually take. Again, this assumes that the putative roadmap is so real which it will not modification (or hasn't already).

The Reg asked Microsoft whether or not it might ensure the roadmap and whether or not it absolutely was true that plans to deliver office elements for android and iOS had been pushed back from an earlier unharness schedule. rather like Foley, we tend to were told solely, "We do not have any info to share concerning successive set of updates to office.