Back in March, Microsoft launched Office for iPad which was basically Microsoft’s suite of Office productivity apps designed for tablets. It turns out that the apps were well-received, especially since they managed to top the iTunes App Store Charts, and it was a couple of weeks later that its downloads had hit the 12 million mark.
If you were thinking that the apps were a novelty and that people would eventually get bored and go back to free options, well think again because according to Microsoft’s General Manager of the Office Division, Julia White, it looks like Office for iPad has enjoyed 27 million downloads to date. Given that the app was released about 6 weeks ago, this averages about 4.5 million downloads a week, which is pretty impressive.
While the app is great for those who are comfortable with Microsoft’s Office platform, the downside is that it requires users to have an Office 365 subscription in order for them to use the app fully. Documents are viewable on the app itself, but if you wanted more functionality, such as editing the document, you’d be required to have a paid subscription, if not the apps are basically a glorified document/spreadsheet viewer.
However with Office 365’s popularity, we’re guessing that this won’t be an issue for most users, but in the event that you’d rather not pay, there are still plenty of free alternatives out there, such as from Google who has recently released standalone Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps that have made its way onto iOS and Android devices.
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