Microsoft releases Office apps for iPhones, iPads

San Francisco (AP) — Microsoft is releasing new, beefed-up versions of its popular Office software apps for iPhones and iPads, part of the company’s push to stay relevant to workers in an increasingly mobile world.

It’s also working on new versions for Android tablets and phones, although they’re not yet ready for general release.

As more workers use smartphones and tablets along with — or instead of — desktop PCs, they want to have the same capabilities on all their devices, says Michael Atella, director of Microsoft’s Office apps product management.

Microsoft has been working for the last two years to build new web-based versions of its software and apps that can be easily used on the much smaller screens of mobile devices, but still seem familiar to people who use the traditional desktop tools.

The free updates, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, replace a limited iPhone version and upgrade a more powerful set of apps that the company released for iPad tablets in March, which has been downloaded 40 million times.