Microsoft is making Office free for mobile users

Microsoft recently published a post to its Office blog which described some of the things that users can expect in the coming months. Perhaps the most interesting announcement in the post was the fact that Microsoft will be making the “core” Office experience free to mobile users, with mobile devices being described as any device that’s 10 inches or smaller. 

Since the Office for iPad announcement last March, we’ve worked hard to bring the power of Office to every person, across every platform and device, so people can get things done on their terms. This substantial increase in distribution has naturally brought some changes in the way people use Office, including how and when they need a subscription to Office 365. In the same way we’ve tuned Office software to be great on different devices, we’ve also carefully thought through the use cases and business implications involved. We’ve analyzed how our products are used in the real world, researched device trends that are shaping new experiences, and worked to understand what our customers want and need. All of this background work is used to inform how we categorize users, scenarios and devices into our licensing models.