Microsoft chief unveils new Office for iPad apps

Microsoft has unveiled  its new Office apps for the iPad as expected, as new chief executive Satya Nadella outlined the company's mobile and cloud strategy in his first major public address since taking up the role.

The suite of productivity tools includes Word, Excel and Powerpoint, in a touch-optimised version that was built specially for the iPad, the company said.

"This is definitely not the ported Windows app to an iPad," Microsoft's Officedivision general manager Julia White said as she demonstrated the applications.

The iPad apps, which are now available in the App Store, are free to download and use to view Office content; to create or edit documents and presentations, however, an Office365 subscription is required. That will cost users €10 per month or €99 for the year, and can be used across several devices.

Mr Nadella said the company’s “innovation agenda” was geared toward a “mobile first and cloud first”.

“This is our first step on the journey of making this great innovation vector for all of Microsoft,” he said.

Microsoft also unveiled its enterprise mobility suite.

“This in a sense is a cloud for everyone on every device,” he said.

Mr Nadella promised there would be more to come in the near future, saying today’s announcement was just the first step.