All-in-one Microsoft Office Mobile app for Android and iOS released

New Office Mobile app will provide stripped down versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint optimised for smartphone screens

Microsoft has released its all-in-one Office Mobile app for Android and iOS at its Ignite conference today.

The app combines lightweight versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Its appearance fulfils a long-standing promise of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to port the company's popular Office applications suite to other widely used operating systems - not just Windows and MacOS.

The app has been available exclusively on Samsung smartphones for some time, but today Microsoft has made it available to pretty much all smartphone users as a ‘public preview'. Android users can sign up here, and it's available on TestFlight for iOS here.

The Office Mobile app is also expected to be pre-installed on Microsoft's upcoming dual-screen Surface Duo device, which will start shipping next year.

You can snap a picture of a document and turn it into an editable word file

The app, though similar to the Office app that comes pre-installed on Windows 10, includes a new ‘Actions' pane that Microsoft claims will make it easier it edit documents on-the-go. Users will be able to create and sign PDFs from their smartphone, for example. Sharing files has also been simplified.

With small smartphone screens in mind, the new Office Mobile app will also enable users to to take a picture of a document and turn it into an editable word file, then transform tables from a printed page into an Excel spreadsheet.

"We all want to be able to work on the go from mobile devices and we're always looking to simplify and improve the experience. Now you no longer need to download each app separately and will have everything you need to be productive on the go," said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365.

"You can snap a picture of a document and turn it into an editable word file, for instance, or transform tables from a printed page into an Excel spreadsheet."

Outlook for mobile is also getting an upgrade with a new ‘Play My Emails' feature that's available on iOS from today (in the US) and will arrive on Android next year. The feature enables Outlook users to ‘play back' emails using Cortana, Microsoft's personal assistant technology, which will read new emails aloud and share scheduling changes.

The feature will also offer a new ‘masculine' alternative to Cortana's default voice option.