Microsoft has confirmed that it has plans to make Microsoft Office free for devices with screen size less than 10.1 inches. This is in line with the recent Office releases for iOS and Android where most core features are free.
With an ever increasing number of Office users, Microsoft aims to make its services available to most of the users. Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal grew to more than 9.2 million subscribers in the last quarter, up 30 percent and with recent announcement of Microsoft Office to be available for free for small PCs and tablets, the number is expected to rise higher.
In a blog post, Kirk Koenigsbauer, Corporate Vice President, revealed this news. He said, “Currently, we are also using screen size to delineate between professional and personal use. Based on our research, we are classifying anything with a screen size of 10.1 inches or less as a true mobile device: You’re probably using it on the go, when it’s not practical to use a larger computing device such as a PC or a Mac. You probably aren’t using a mouse or a keyboard, instead navigating via touch interface. It’s probably not a “pro” category tablet that is used for design or presentations. On these devices, the core editing and viewing experience is free, until you get to those premium, subscription features.”
The step has been taken to make Office available on small screen to the broadest population of mobile users. One can also subscribe to Office 365 to extend the office experience across all the devices.
Microsoft is also working on new Windows version of Office. One will be focused on touch-centric devices while other will aim at traditional desktops. Both versions, known as Office 2016, are expected to be launched later this year.
In the past also, Microsoft and its partners have offered a free year of Office 365 on some small screen devices.
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