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11/02/2024 10:34:45 am

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Microsoft Adds OneDrive, OneNote and PowerPoint on Apple Watch

The Apple Watch Sport will now be improved with the newly released Apple's WatchOS 2.

(Photo : Reuters)

Microsoft may have been unsupportive of competing platforms in the past but that's all behind it now.

In fact, it looks like Microsoft is putting more emphasis on Apple's platforms than its own with three new apps for the Apple Watch before it launches.

The apps -- OneDrive, PowerPoint and OneNote -- will be available when the Apple Watch launches in two days. All three offer limited functionality and are tailored towards the smaller device size for one or two tasks.

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OneDrive will allow users to view, sort and delete images. The user can check different folders for images on a particular day or at a particular place. Users won't be able to sort through folders, open documents or buy more storage through the app.

Microsoft has added PowerPoint to the Apple Watch, allowing users to move through slides using the Apple Watch touchscreen. Information on time elapsed between slides and how many slides are in a presentation will be available on the Apple Watch screen.

OneNote was added today, allowing user dictation for new notes and a quick overview of all saved notes. It follows a similar app added to Android Wear, allowing smartwatch users to draw letters for new notes on the various touchscreens.

All three of the apps have been approved quickly by Apple although we don't know how long Microsoft has been waiting for approval. What we do know is Microsoft believes the Apple Watch will be a massive commercial product and far larger than the Android Wear smartwatches.

The three apps will work with the iPhone for now and that means no Mac, Windows or Android support. Due to Apple's enclosed system for the Watch, it's hard for developers to offer cross platform functionality, especially on competing platforms like Android and Windows Phone.

Apple might fix this in a later update although we expect them to wait it out since offering Android support may in turn reduce the number of iPhone sales. That seems highly unlikely considering the massive iPhone sales in the first quarter.

Microsoft has shown it doesn't care for the current politics in the technology world. Instead, it's looking to add all services on every platform regardless of friendship with the platform provider or user adoption on these platforms.

iOS seems to be the major platform for Microsoft since it's bound to get more revenue than on Android. Even Windows Phone apps made by Microsoft are starting to look redundant though these will be revamped in the Windows 10 update this summer, according to Microsoft.

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