Microsoft makes Office free on mobile

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday said users of its Office suite of applications on Apple Inc.’s iPad would be able to create and edit documents for free instead of paying for a subscription, in a bid to capture more mobile users. Microsoft also announced on Thursday that it is releasing Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps for the iPhone for the first time, and rolling out a test version of those apps for Android tablets, which are expected to be released fully early next year. Microsoft’s Office suite is still the gold standard for work applications on the PC, but easy-to-use, touch-friendly work apps like Haiku Deck, Quip, Smartsheet and Evernote, plus a full range of Google Apps, have quickly gained a following among younger users who regularly create and consume content on mobile devices.

Today, we’re taking the next major step to bring Office to everyone, on every device.

John Case, Microsoft vice president

The move is the latest, and one of the most dramatic, in Microsoft’s new strategy of getting customers to use their services regardless of device or operating system, rather than lose them to a proliferation of free or cheap alternatives. The new strategy, led by CEO Satya Nadella, is a recognition that the dominance of Windows and Office on PCs has not translated to the fast-growing mobile arena, where Apple’s phones and tablets, and devices running Google Inc.’s Android, rule. Nadella’s first major move after taking the helm in February was to make Office available on the iPad, which has attracted 40 million users.

Business Microsoft