Outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admits that the Redmond based firm is indeed working on an iPad optimized version of Office, even as the company’s Surface ads make fun of the iPad for not having the app.
The company apparently plans to release a touch version of Office for its own Windows platform first, after which the software will come to iPad. Ballmer revealed the in-development software while speaking at a Gartner event in Florida on Tuesday, according to The Verge.
Microsoft released an official Office 365 app for the iPhone back in June, but it lacks any features optimized for the larger display of the iPad.
An optimized version of Office for the iPad will be made available one Microsoft has completed its “touch first” interface for the suite says Ballmer. The CEO did not supply a timeframe, merely saying that development is “in progress.”
While various reports and rumors have circulated about Microsoft’s development of a version of Office for the iPad, Ballmer’s comments are the first official confirmation of such an app.
