14 DAY TRIAL // When it comes to mobile, Microsoft is all about apps and services for Android and iOS, as the company decided to give up on Windows 10 Mobile and no longer invest in new hardware and software for this platform.
While Windows 10 Mobile is awaiting its end-of-support date in 2019, Microsoft is working really hard on improving its app arsenal on rival mobile platforms.
This means it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that updates for Android and iOS apps are rolled out on a regular basis, sometimes even daily, as Microsoft wants to provide its customers with a smooth experience no matter the platform they embrace.
Until now, it just looks like this approach is working properly, as Microsoft has a large collection of apps on Android and iOS, each with millions of users. And the company sees no reason to stop here, so not only that it’s working on improving the existing portfolio of apps, but it also wants to release more new apps to devices worldwide.
Right now, I rely on several Microsoft apps on my main Android phone, and these are my top three:
There’s no doubt this is the best email app on both Android and iOS. Period. Based on the client of a company called Acompli and acquired by Microsoft, Outlook not only that sports a super-clean interface, but it also comes exactly with the right feature package to deliver emails on time, with no delays or any other issues whatsoever.
During my time with Outlook I barely found anything to complain about, and I’m truly pleased with the way it works. I also used Outlook on my iPhone to replace the built-in Apple Mail app, and although there are plenty of other capable email apps out there, the built-in support for Exchange and the clean UI is what keeps me on Outlook.
Since I’m committed to the Microsoft ecosystem, there’s no way I can use a different cloud service. And because many of my files are stored in OneDrive, I’m obviously using the OneDrive app on my Android phones too.
Just to be clear, I haven’t configured my devices to automatically upload the camera roll to OneDrive, so I manage my files manually.
But the application loads fast, again has a clean UI, which is something that Microsoft does with most of its app on Android, and works pretty smoothly, with files, like photos, rendered quickly even on a data connection.
I don’t do a lot of document editing on my mobile devices, but when I do, Microsoft Office is obviously the solution I choose.
As one of the most advanced productivity suites on mobile devices, Microsoft Office comes with a super-rich feature package, and the app I use the most is Word. Most of the time, I’m only making small edits, but I also use Word to view PDF documents, like bills that are delivered to my mail account.
In addition to these three apps, which I use on a frequent basis, I’ve also installed a bunch of other Microsoft apps, including Skype, Microsoft Authenticator, and Microsoft Launcher.
However, I use Skype on my mobile device only occasionally, mostly because the main messaging app here is WhatsApp, which offers both text messaging and video call support. When it comes to video calls that are related to my job, I prefer to stick with Skype on my laptop.
As for Microsoft Authenticator, I just have to use it to manage access to my accounts. Because I’m a freak when it comes to passwords, and I typically use super-complex combinations with numbers, letters, and symbols, Microsoft Authenticator is the easiest way to log in to my accounts.
And last but not least, I was, until recently, a huge Microsoft Launcher fan. But as I told you not a long time ago, I decided to stay away from the Launcher for a while and stick with the default launcher that comes on my phone.
What are your favorite apps on Android? Let me know in the box after the jump.
