Our Verdict
When I reviewedPowerPoint for iPad variant 1.0back in April 2014 , I found a mickle to care but dinged the app for a few celebrated omission ; I also noted its dependence on a paid Office 365 subscription . Now at version 1.3,PowerPoint for iOSworks on iPhones as well , and has adopted a young freemium simulation ( like the other Office apps — Word and Excel ) in which most of its features are uncommitted even to those who do n’t pay off for Office 365 .
It almost looks as though Microsoft turned my list of cons from version 1.0 into its to - do list — every major complaint has been addressed . Audio and video now play correctly , and you could tot video recording ( though not stand - alone audio ) from your iOS twist . you could now add and edit animations , and you could crop range . There ’s a Presenter View , so you may see your notes and thumbnail of your slides while giving a presentation . And — shocker — you’re able to even opt for Dropbox filing cabinet storage as an choice to Microsoft ’s own OneDrive .
you may now add vitality — include entering , exit , and emphasis effect — in PowerPoint for iOS , although allowance options are limited .
These changes are exceptionally welcome , and they make PowerPoint for iOS far more competitive with Apple ’s Keynote than it was previously . If you have an Office 365 subscription , you ’re in for a goody with the new PowerPoint . But if you do n’t , you ’ll overleap out on a number of the groovy new features .
Free at a price
Like other Microsoft Office apps for iOS , PowerPoint offers three levels of access , two of which are free :
View Only : If you get to the app without bless in to a Microsoft history , you could view and present ( but not edit ) written document .
horizon and Edit : Sign in with a free Microsoft account to make and edit document ( with some limitation ) and access OneDrive warehousing . you’re able to make a raw account in the app if you do n’t already have one .
Premium feature film : Sign in to an account with a pay Office 365 subscription ( or corrupt one via in - app purchase ) and all features are enabled . As we detail previously , the premium features are Presenter View ; adding custom colors to shape ; adding and editing WordArt ; apply reflections and shadow to graphics ; add and editing chart elements ; and adjust the shading of board cells , rows , and newspaper column .
Three cheers for presenter vista , which lets you see your notes , and thumbnails of your microscope slide , while the audience sees just your full - screen slide .
How useful is PowerPoint 1.3 in the “ View and Edit ” mode — the high level of access you could get without pay ? For me , the result was “ so - so , ” but your answer will depend on the types of presentations you give and whether you need to make or edit them on an iOS gadget .
I seldom use any of the non - premium editing features like WordArt and reflectivity , and if I needed them , I could produce or blue-pencil my intro on a Mac or PC . On the other hand , Presenter View is hugely important to me . I missed it sorely in adaptation 1.0 and would be reluctant to give it up ; it not only lease me see my notes while I manipulate the presentation but also countenance me jump to any arbitrary swoop by tap its thumbnail . If your workflow involves using an iOS gadget only to create intro but not to exhibit them , you may have the diametrical reaction .
Chasing perfection
On the other bridge player , I noticed that signing out from my Microsoft account also disabled Dropbox access , and I could n’t restore Dropbox access until I first signed back in to a Microsoft business relationship — my only option besides local storage was SharePoint . ( This was unexpended given that I could get at Dropbox without signing in at all after a fresh install . ) Since even a free Microsoft bill will do for this aim , that ’s a minor inconvenience .
Bottom line
If you take an Office 365 subscription for give — which , after all , was required in PowerPoint interpretation 1.0 — version 1.3 is a phenomenal improvement . If , on the other hand , you draw near it as a innocent tool , you get a perfectly dainty , if limited , iOS app that can view , create , edit , and present native PowerPoint documents . That ’s nothing to sneeze at , considering how difficult it was to do any of that just nine months ago — and free is free , after all . But anyone wanting to do serious editing or practice Presenter View will require to spring for a subscription .
