Windows 10 Features – Universal Apps

For years we've been hearing about Microsoft’s dream of universal apps (apps that can be written once and run on a wide variety of different devices), but now with Windows 10 the dream has finally become a reality. 

The idea of universal apps may seem a bit boring for you, but it is very important to making developers latch onto this new Windows in a way they never did with Windows 8.

You may be asking yourself, “What exactly is a universal app?” Well, they are cross-compatible apps that will essentially let you work with Office apps that behave the same across many platforms, from phones to computers. According to Microsoft’s Belfiore, universal apps are “a version of Office for Windows 10 built for touch screens and dealt out on small devices.”

Most of you may agree and understand that, compared to full-blown desktop systems, mobile devices have limitations, but that doesn't forgive Microsoft for giving us such weak apps for our smartphones and tablets. Luckily, Microsoft has promised to fix that, check out what the new functionality includes:

o   MS Office: Touch-ready mobile versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and OneNote.
o   Word app: Create, mark-up, review, comment in documents, share and collaborate.
o   Word app: A read mode provides access to online resources such as Web references.
o   Excel app: Swiping to select cells and perform formatting, such as creating charts.
o   Outlook app: Support for touch, as well as swiping to select, sort, and archive your email.
o   Outlook app: Uses Word as built-in word processor.
o   PowerPoint app: An “Ink” feature allows real-time comments on slides.

Microsoft mentioned that it will pre-install Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook on Windows 10 smartphones and small tablets – for free! The apps will also be available for download from Windows Store, for tablets, hybrids and convertible mobile devices with large screens.

Apparently the desktop version is only going to be released towards the end of the year, and it will be called Office 2016. In fact, both the desktop and mobile apps will be ready about the same time as Windows 10 in late 2015.

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Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town

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