- Microsoft seems to experiment with office applications supported by advertising
- They are limited in their functionality and will require OneDrive synchronization
- Word, Excel and PowerPoint could go free
Microsoft seems to have published free versions of its basic office applications – Word, Excel and PowerPoint – although they are supported by advertisements and limited in their functionality.
The change was first spotted by AbebomWho revealed that free office applications show a persistent advertising banner, as well as a 15 -second video announcement that plays “every few hours”.
However, the company has already changed to clarify the launch is only a test, a Microsoft spokesperson saying that there were “no plans” for a broader launch.
Microsoft is quietly launching office applications supported by advertising
“Microsoft has performed limited tests,” a company spokesman for PCworld told. “Currently, it is not planned to launch a free version and supported by advertising Microsoft Office desktop applications.”
Users who seek to access free desktop software will also notice that local file editing is not supported and that they will be guided to save files on OneDrive.
To access free applications, users will have to ignore the connection prompt, then accept their files in the Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage system.
Being without cost, these three free applications will be more limited in their features, lacking certain tools such as supplements, dictating, smartart, advanced formatting and pivot. Applications seem to fill a gap between full -fledged desktop applications and even more limited online web applications.
Abebom Note that for the moment, at least, free desktop applications are only available for Windows users, but they can always be used offline despite the requirement to save files in OneDrive.
Downloading free applications is exactly the same as downloading full applications, just that users will jump the connection scene that would otherwise have access to all features.
In terms of availability, some users have declared that they could not access the free Word, Excel and PowerPoint versions, which suggests that this could be in the test phase, which is added since Microsoft has not announced anything officially on this subject. In addition, there is no (yet) Mac equivalent.
For the context, Microsoft has recently increased the prices of Consumer 365 subscriptions, so this could be one of the ways to justify the change.
A company spokesperson confirmed with Techradar Pro In an email: “Microsoft has carried out limited tests. Currently, it is not planned to launch a free version and supported by the advertising of Microsoft Office desktop applications.”
