With the launch of Office 2019, Microsoft introduced a new generation of Office apps earlier this week. On Windows and Mac, big changes are coming with the arrival of Office 2019. But for those on Windows 10, there are some big changes, too.

Going forward, Microsoft is going to deprioritize the development of its Office Mobile apps built specifically for Windows 10 and modern Windows devices. These apps work really well on Windows Phone devices, and they work as a “lightweight” alternative to the full-fledged Office apps on the desktop,

In an unsurprising move, Microsoft is now going to prioritize development of the Office apps on Android and iOS, as well as the Win32 and web versions of Office. Microsoft isn’t completely getting rid of these apps, though — instead, it will simply focus on the development of the full-fledged Office apps and the Office Online apps. The Office Mobile apps for Windows 10 are considered as “legacy” apps, reports Neowin

A Microsoft spokesperson clarified the company’s plans with ZDNet, stating “The Office mobile apps for Windows have not been deprecated. But for mobile, we are currently prioritizing development for the iOS and Android versions of our apps; and on Windows, we are prioritizing Win32 and web versions of our apps.”

The move was not surprising at all. Microsoft no longer needs to build Office apps specifically for Windows 10 devices as the full-fledged Office desktop apps are now available from the Microsoft Store on Windows devices. Plus, maintaining two different versions of the same apps for the same platform is simply a big waste of resources.

For those wondering, this doesn’t include the OneNote UWP app. It will continue to improve going forward.

Tagged with Office 2019, Office mobile