Office Mobile app for iPhone

Office. On the iPhone... but is the first version of Microsoft’s flagship suite really worth downloading?

Our Verdict

Even if you already have an Office 365 subscription, Office Mobile doesn’t deliver all the top features.

For

  • Free for Office 365 subscribers
  • Simple, modern-looking interface enables quick access to Skydrive-stored documents
  • Supports commenting

Against

  • Expensive if just for use on the iPhone
  • Basic functionality
  • Can't save Word 97-2003 files

Why you can trust Creative Bloq Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

It's taken Microsoft six years to commit to and create a version for iOS devices. In the meantime, a lot of apps have come along that fill the gap of providing an Office-compatible word processor, spreadsheet and presentation package, including Apple's own iWork suite, the Google-owned QuickOffice, and many more. All deliver a lesser or greater degree of compatibility with Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, but nothing had the Microsoft seal of approval - until now.

Or at least, 'until now, if you're using an iPhone'. Yes, Microsoft has released a version of Office, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but if you're using an iPad you're basically out of luck.

That's the bad news. The good news is that the snappily-titled Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers is free – as long as you’re a subscriber to the £79.99/$119.99 year Office 365 service. This gets you not only the iPhone app, but also the full Mac or Windows suite, for up to five machines in total and 20GB of storage on Microsoft's Skydrive service. This isn't a bad deal if you have multiple machines, but if you're looking for something just for your iPhone it's much more expensive than the competition.

Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers is free

Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers is free

However, if you're wedded to Microsoft applications or already have an Office 365 subscription, then Office Mobile looks initially like a good option. It has a simple, modern-looking interface that allows you to quickly get to your Skydrive-stored documents, with the most recent ones listed first.

The app's design makes up a little for the lack of functionality, which is best described as 'basic'. Offline document creation is supported, up to the point of saving the document. Although Office Mobile claimed it would save the document offline, once we reconnected it was nowhere to be found - not a great experience if you've just spent 30 minutes on the tube typing out 400-odd words with your thumbs. And only new files are supported: Word 97-2003 files can't be edited.

Office Mobile review

Word 97-2003 files can't be edited with Office Mobile

Word supports basic character-level formatting, but doesn't support styles - something that's absolutely vital if you're a hardcore Word user, and which is supported by Apple's Pages. Although we'd expect Word to be basic given its transition to the iPhone, this just feels too basic - even lacking support for changing the font or creating bullet points.

Interestingly, Word does support commenting. Tap-and-hold on a word, and you can highlight a phrase and insert a comment. This betrays what we think is Microsoft's assumption about what you're most likely to be doing with Word on a phone: reviewing docs created on a 'real' computer.

Office Mobile review

You can edit spreadsheets freely in Excel, however, not many formulae are supported

Excel, at least, feels a little more powerful. You can edit any spreadsheet freely, although you have to write out any formulae and not that many are supported. You can lock cells, change the width of columns and change formatting for individual cells, although again you're limited to one font and a few options. You can even create charts, although the types are quite limited. Of course, Excel also suffers more than any of the other apps from being on a small screen: spreadsheet power users will know that you want a big screen to fit as many cells on as possible.

PowerPoint, on the other hand, is pretty much a glorified slide viewer. You can edit the text on slides, add notes, and that’s about it. You can’t add or reorder slides, edit graphics or transitions, or pretty much anything else.

Office Mobile review

Powerpoint is pretty much a glorified slide viewer

Overall, this feels very much like a 1.0 product. You're given basic editing tools and the ability to tap directly into your Skydrive – and that's about it. There are plenty of better options out there that do the Office job well.

Key info

  • Works with: iPhone
  • Price: Free (IAP subscription)
  • Developer: Microsoft Corporation
  • Version: 1.0
  • App size: 58MB
  • Age rating: 4+

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

The Verdict
4

out of 10

Office Mobile

Even if you already have an Office 365 subscription, Office Mobile doesn’t deliver all the top features.

Kerrie Hughes

Kerrie Hughes is Editor at Creative Bloq. One of the original CB crew, Kerrie joined the team back in 2013 after moving from her role as staff writer on 3D World. Since then she's written regularly for other creative publications. Kerrie's work for Creative Bloq involves managing the team and the site's content, developing and maintaining commercial partnerships, and finding innovative ways to bring Creative Bloq's audience the content they're looking for.