Microsoft Office 15 apps to include ‘touch mode’
Summary: The coming Office 15 client apps all seem to be getting a new ‘touch mode’ button that will enable them to work better on touch-centric devices. — It looks like Office 15 client apps are going to get more touchy …
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft had already signaled a Metro-oriented redesign of Office in September 2011, and an executive later pointed to more multi-platform mobile products in 2012. The reported touch-mode control is a concrete, though unconfirmed, expression of both directions: adapting the established client suite rather than treating touch as a separate product line.
First-order effects
- If the reported feature ships, Office 15 users on touch-centric devices gain an explicit interface setting intended to make the desktop client apps easier to operate by touch.
- Microsoft’s Office teams would need to support touch-oriented interaction alongside the suite’s established desktop workflow across the client apps.
Second-order effects
- A shared touch-mode approach would let Microsoft carry a more consistent Office experience across device categories while pursuing the multi-platform product strategy it had outlined.
- The effort raises the importance of interface consistency inside Office: changes to controls and layouts must serve touch users without displacing keyboard-and-mouse users.
Third-order effects
- If this approach becomes standard, productivity software shifts from device-specific editions toward adaptable interfaces within a single application suite.
- Office’s redesign points to a broader migration of legacy desktop software toward touch-aware interaction models, with familiar workflows retained as the bridge.
The trend: Microsoft is positioning Office for a transition from desktop-first software to suites that adapt their interface to touch-centric devices.