Office for iOS: A slap in the face for Windows Phone users

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iPad, iPhone and Android users are getting the excellent Office suite before Windows Phone users - it's totally unfair!

Hello comrades, I am a glorious Windows Phone user.

Yes, I am not ashamed to admit this, nor am I ashamed of my decision. I love my Windows Phone very much, and I have no intention of replacing it with an iPhone (my wife uses an iPhone, but this will never sway my choice). Although the functions and applications on the Windows Phone platform are quite scarce (in contrast, iOS and Android devices can support much more application options), and many functions must rely on Office 365 to achieve, I still stubbornly stick to my smartphone preferences. As a loyal fan and MVP of Office 365, I need to use the largest and largest set of tools on my mobile device and use them to connect with Office 365 services. But it is here that I start to feel frustrated with my choice.

Just last week, Microsoft announced the latest round of enhancements to its Office apps for iPhone and iPad, and previewed Office apps for Android. That's exciting news, but I don't see Microsoft putting the same effort into making sure the Windows Phone Office apps are as enhanced, let alone better than those two. In fact, there are no Office apps for Windows Phone at all, and that's a little hard to accept.

Of course, some people might say, "Well, you already have the Office suite on the Windows desktop platform - why do you have to use a significantly scaled-down version on a mobile device?" But the reality is that many users simply don't need the full application feature set, and they prefer to use lightweight applications to handle simpler daily tasks.

In addition, the apps currently available on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices allow users to create and edit office content without a subscription. As an Office 365 subscriber, I believe that you must be as unacceptable as I am. We still need to subscribe to enjoy the full Office experience, and Microsoft has not prepared any form of alternative to provide a free option equivalent to the iPhone/iPad/Android version. The current situation is that my wife can happily use the Apple iPad to easily run Office, but I, a Microsoft diehard, cannot get the same experience on a device with a big four-color flag logo without a subscription.

Of course, Microsoft needs to make money through operations and decisions. Business is business, and I understand that. With iOS and Android devices accounting for a significant proportion of the market, it is indeed a very smart move to focus development efforts on non-Windows Phone devices, which can effectively encourage users to fully invest in the Microsoft service ecosystem and effectively resist the impact of competitors such as Google Apps. I agree with this biased focus, but having said that, this should not be Microsoft's only or even the first priority.

Apparently, I’m not alone. Exchange MVP Paul Robichaux commented on the situation:

Microsoft could solve the Office problem in a number of ways, depending on what you mean by "Microsoft": the Office team could build a version of Office specifically for Windows Phone, or the Windows Phone team could support the development of that work with staff or money. If they don't do that, it means they think their money could be spent elsewhere -- as we all know, the Windows Phone team has been funding the development of several other major apps.

From my perspective, there is no reason why the Windows Phone team couldn't hire 50 or so developers and lead them to build something similar to the iOS Office apps. As Robichaux mentioned before, they have been very active in funding app developers. If other major apps are getting traction on the Windows Phone platform, why not the Office suite?

At the same time, Mr. Robichaux put Microsoft in quotation marks, which means he acknowledged that one of the reasons for Office's difficulties is that Microsoft is currently competing for the mobile market in a variety of different ways:

When we say "Microsoft has no reason not to do this or that", we first need to clarify what part of the concept "Microsoft" mentioned here refers to. Is it the Office client development team? Or the Windows Phone team? Obviously, the two teams have completely different priorities and strategic deployments.

In addition, we may have seen a change in Microsoft's competitive attitude after the Bill Gates era. New CEO Satya Nadella seems to have been trying to eliminate the competition between Microsoft and other manufacturers. In his view, revenue is the only criterion for measuring success and failure, and other factors can be temporarily put aside. In this sense, Robichaux said, "...if the word 'Microsoft' represents this new CEO, then it is understandable that 'Microsoft' has set a low priority for the development of Windows Phone platform applications."

Looking ahead, it's worth clarifying these considerations in advance, because more development-related trends are on the agenda. With the continuous updates of MDM (Mobile Device Management) and Enterprise Mobility Suite, administrators will surely appreciate the potential of these most attractive tools and the convenience of daily workflows. According to the EMS website, the cloud service suite - including Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium, Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Azure Rights Management - will be fully launched soon. There is no doubt that we will usher in a very rich tool solution on many different platforms. Personally, I hope that all components related to Windows Phone can be given priority and have a core position, but based on the current development status of Windows Phone, such a request is probably just a pipe dream.

We will keep this topic in mind and revisit it when the time is right. We hope to hear more exciting news from the Windows Phone development team in the near future. I am a proud Windows Phone user, and I am too lazy to explain why I chose this relatively weak mobile platform. As Microsoft's own child, Windows Phone should have a list of supported capabilities that is enough to stand out from the crowd and even make other manufacturers envious - but it does not yet exist.