One company Apple watchers perhaps did not expect to see at Wednesday’s iPhone event was Microsoft, but Redmond was there to show off how its updated Office software will play well with Apple devices.
In a blog post, the Office team said it has “developed a number of new features for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, and Translator” to take advantage of iPad Pro, iOS 9, and WatchOS 2.
The Slide Over and Split View multi-tasking functions in iOS 9, for example, will make it easier to switch between Office apps on your iPad.
Whether you want to create a reminder in OneNote while catching up with email or reference notes while working on a PowerPoint presentation, just Slide Over to access a second app without leaving the first. Split View, meanwhile, means two apps are open and active at the same time, so you can copy numbers from Excel to Word on one screen.
Also handy for iOS users: Microsoft’s intelligent search, which now includes OneNote notes and Outlook email messages in iPhone and iPad searches.
Folks awaiting November’s release of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro can look forward inking up Office apps with the Apple Pencil.
Apple Watch owners, meanwhile, can do more with Outlook, which now shows the day’s activities and incoming email directly on the watch face. Turn the Digital Crown to check upcoming appointments.
The new Translator service—introduced just last month—allows a recent or pinned translation to be played back later, through the watch speaker. Travelers, especially, can count on the device automatically highlighting common phrases like “good morning” and “goodbye” in the local language.
All updated Office apps will be available when the new iPad Pro, iOS 9, and WatchOS 2 arrive.
In the meantime, Redmond today announced that Office 2016 will be broadly available starting Sept. 22. The next-gen program comes with improvements to the Office update model, more IT capabilities, and new admin tools and resources.
[ Source :- Pcmag ]
