ISSUE 72 • ANDROID ADVISOR 69in public preview since then. Google accidentally
published the Office app early over the President’s
Day holiday (17 February).
The mobile Office app actually replaces separate
mobile apps such as Excel – you can uninstall them,
and the Office app will still let you open and edit
documents. Once a separate app, the Office Lens
capabilities for scanning whiteboards and other
documents and converting them to editable text are
now integrated. You can also create and sign PDFs
directly from your phone. The Office app is available
for Android phones and for Android tablets with
‘limited support’; a ‘fully optimized’ tablet experience
for Android tablets is due soon.
Three key features are being added to the Office
app in the next few months: the ability to pull out a
row of data within Excel and edit it in a card format;
the ability to create a PowerPoint presentation using
just an outline, while tapping Microsoft’s AI to create
formatting and backgrounds; and dictation within
Word, something that’s been overdue for some time.
“This is the gateway to Office on mobile,” said
Nithya Sampathkumar, principal group product
manager for the mobile Office app, in an interview.
“We want you to come here, feel like this is your
content hub, and see all the content you work with
here. And it’s a full-fledged app... you should be able
to come here and get everything done.”
Hands on with the Office app for Android
The Office app starts off like the Office app for
Windows 10, with a list of ‘recommended’ documents