App Store Apps

Microsoft releases Invite for iPhone for organizing and scheduling group meetings on the go

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

Not to be outdone by Google which just released a note-taking iPhone and iPad app called Keep, software giant Microsoft today rolled out a brand new productivity app of its own, Invite for iPhone.

A Microsoft Garage project, Invite was designed to help groups “agree on a time to meet, even when they can’t see each other’s schedules.”

Recognizing that scheduling group meetings is no easy task on desktop, let alone on mobile, Invite keeps things simple enough to help you effectively coordinate multiple people’s schedules on a small screen.

You simply suggest times that work for you, and then invite attendees. After attendees select all the times they can attend, and once everyone has responded through Invite or via the web interface, you simply pick the time that works best for everyone and your group meeting is a go.

Some Skype users experiencing issues with calling and messaging, Microsoft working on a fix

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 21, 2015

Are you plagued with various Skype issues, such as the inability to place VoIP calls, update your status or send instant messages? Are all of your Skype contacts showing as offline? Don't worry, you're not alone.

According to a support document published Monday morning, many people are reporting issues with Skype status and calling and Microsoft is working on a fix.

“We're doing everything we can to fix this issue and hope to have another update for you soon,” the company wrote. “Thank you for your patience as we work to get this incident resolved.”

Skype issues a thorough revamp of iPhone and iPad app with new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 3, 2015

Microsoft-owned Skype on Thursday announced a major redesign of its mobile application for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The new Skype 6.0 for iPhone and Skype 6.0 for iPad (still two separate downloads) features a sleeker look that the company says was “built for both the iPhone and iPad,” includes simpler navigation, a more powerful search and improved multi-tasking when switching between call and chat screens.

Bing for iPhone picks up Interests and News, gains private searching, Apple Watch app and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Microsoft's Bing for iPhone app was updated last evening with several new features such as Bing Interests, Bing News, a private searching mode, the Popular Now section on your Apple Watch and other enhancements.

I typically use Google's native search app on my iPhone, but Bing saw some rather interesting improvements in recent months. In my personal opinion, Microsoft's search-based app is better designed than Google's with richer descriptions and prettier images.

More importunely, Bing's popular searches feature produces way more relevant results than Google, at least for me.

Microsoft Office apps pick up better Outlook integration with ‘Send with Outlook’ and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 12, 2015

Microsoft today issued refreshed Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad in the App Store. The new versions of these mobile productivity apps include several new features, most notably tighter integration with Microsoft's Outlook for iOS app.

In addition to richer Outlook integration across all three apps, you can now change selected text in Word to uppercase, lowercase, sentence case and more, as well as view comments in PowerPoint next to the slide in a task pane.

Microsoft Translator hits iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch with support for 50 languages

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 4, 2018

If you’re traveling frequently or have a need to translate anything in your daily life, Microsoft is here to help. The software giant's new release, an app called Microsoft Translator, helps you translate words, phrases and sentences directly on your wrist.

Powered by the same technology used by Office, Bing, Skype, Internet Explorer as well as partners such as Twitter, Yelp, eBay, WeChat and many more, the app lets you speak to your Apple Watch and get an instant translation in a total of fifty languages.

Microsoft Translator is also supported on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad and is available at no charge in the App Store.

Outlook’s Apple Watch app updated with replying from your wrist, all-new glance and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 4, 2018

Outlook's Apple Watch has been updated Thursday with the ability to reply to emails directly from your wrist using Siri dictation, emoji or canned responses, among other new features and enhancements.

The new features make the wearable app much more functional than before. Before today, Outlook for Apple Watch only allowed you to see your emails but not reply to or interact with them.

Other changes in Outlook 1.3.5 for iOS include a glance with upcoming appointments and incoming emails, rich notifications that can be interacted with and other tidbits.

OneDrive for iOS brings back file downloading, adds VoiceOver and Single Sign-On improvements

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 31, 2015

Microsoft's excellent mobile client for its cloud-storage service, OneDrive for iOS, was updated with three new features today, among them the ability to download photos and videos to your Camera roll after a brief hiatus following the app's recent redesign. Available free of charge in the App Store, OneDrive 5.5 for iOS also contains VoiceOver improvements for hearing-impaired users and support for Single Sign-On.

Microsoft’s new opinion-gathering app removes the friction around event planning

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

Microsoft has released a brand new iPhone and iPad application in the App Store. Called Tossup, it was designed to make event planning and opinion-gathering a cinch by basically collecting answers from your friends to any questions you pose to them.

You can present people with a quick Yes/No poll, ask them to find and pick a restaurant, to agree on when to meet, invite them to extend the opinion about any topic and more.

Wunderlist gets acquired by Microsoft

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 2, 2015

6Wunderkinder GmbH, the makers of Wunderlist, the popular to-do, list and tasks application for the Mac, iOS, Apple Watch and other platforms, confirmed today it's being acquired by software giant Microsoft.

With more than thirteen million users across platforms and more than one billion to-dos created in Wunderlist, the app should seamlessly fit in Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's mobile first, cloud first vision.

But don't fret, mobile Wunderlist apps aren't going anywhere, at least for the time being. “As Wunderlist becomes a part of the Microsoft family, we’ll introduce a host of new features, keep adding partner integrations, and progress further in delivering Wunderlist to billions of people,” Christian Reber, 6Wunderkinder founder and CEO said Tuesday.

Skype for iPhone gains link previews, Apple Watch app adds replying with dictation and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 2, 2015

Microsoft-owned Skype today issued an update to its free-of-charge iPhone application in the App Store, adding a few enhancements related to chatting on both your handset and the Apple Watch.

Web link previews are now available in your chat, courtesy of Skype 5.13 for iPhone. When you paste a URL into the chat window, the mobile application will now provide a preview of the website similar to Facebook.

Previews are available when you send or receive a web link and support video content, blogs, news websites and many other types of web content.

Microsoft Office apps for iPhone and iPad gain iCloud document support and other perks

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Microsoft's free of charge Word, Excel and PowerPoint productivity applications for the iPhone and iPad have been updated with the ability to open, edit and save your documents to iCloud, expanding on the previously available storage options such as Microsoft's own OneDrive cloud storage and Dropbox integration.