We’ve often thought of smartphones as little pocket-sized computers, especially considering that they’re a lot more powerful than the PCs the Stuff team started out with back in the day. So we’re quite pleased that Android phones finally have that missing PC piece – Microsoft’s Office software.
Microsoft has announced that Android users are able to download Office for their smartphones, with Word, PowerPoint and Excel all being available now (free) on Google’s Play Store – though you’re in for extra features if you sign in with an Office 365 account. That download requirement won’t stick around for long though.
Smartphones from Sony, LG, and Samsung (among others) will soon be arriving with Microsoft’s Office apps prein-stalled. There is one caveat to be aware of, however. You’re going to have to make sure your phone conforms to system requirements if you want Office in your pocket.
Engadget reports that you’ll need at least 1GB of RAM on your phone, as well as Android 4.4 installed, in order to make use of the apps. We can’t test this (there’s nothing that old in the Stuff offices) but our listing of past devices on Google does show that lower-specced phones are not supported.
Source: Microsoft (blog)