Straying again a little from 'mobile', but all very relevant to tech on the go, I noted that the all-in-one Microsoft Office application for iOS is now optimised for Apple iPads - previously it had run as a larger version of the 'phone' version. Office on your mobile device has been a thing for a decade, of course, on Windows Phone and then eventually iOS and Android, and not forgetting hybrids like the Surface Go. But many people swear by the iPad, often with a folio case/keyboard, as an ultra-mobile computer, and now Office just got a lot more pleasant to use.

Microsoft's Office app for iOS is now up to v2.46, with support for iPadOS, bringing the unified Office experience of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to Apple's tablet ecosystem.

The changelog reads:

"Office is now available on iPad: We're combining the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps you know into a single, iPadOS-optimized app. Plus, you’ll see additional tools to keep you more productive than ever. For example, you’ll be able to quickly create and sign PDFs, and transform pictures into documents."

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have been available individually for five years (as on Android), but this is the new 'unified' Office application that brings office code, cloud sync and camera functions together in one place.

Office for ‌iPadOS‌ is free to use for iPad Air, ‌iPad‌, and iPad mini users, but needs an Microsoft 365 subscription to make full use of all features. For iPad Pro users, with a larger than 10" display, a Microsoft 365 subscription is needed to edit or create documents.

As ever, some screenshot proof of the new version in action. With a Bluetooth keyboard connected, it's all rather swish:

Just some of the many (now) integrated functions in Office for iPadOS...

Browsing my cloud and local file systems on my iPad in Office...

With a test document open and showing the Word UI and ellipsis menu open...