Microsoft announced new “Office apps and experiences for the iPhone and iPad”, as well as a preview of Office apps for Android tablets, including the ability to use the mobile devices to create and edit content without a subscription.

While the computing giant has offered mobile versions of Office before, these have been targeted at users of its Office 365 cloud service. Nevertheless, the company has seen more than 40 million downloads of Office for iPad since its launch earlier this year.

But some features remain the preserve of Office 365 subscribers, with Microsoft presumably hoping it can upsell some users to the full version.

The company said the new apps mean that “iPhone and Android tablet customers can tap into the same experience that people with Office for iPad have enjoyed”.

The updated portfolio includes new iPhone apps for Word, Excel and PowerPoint that offer “the same beautiful iPad experience, optimised for iPhone”; updated Office for iPad apps; and a “preview” of Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Android tablets, with general availability early next year.

The iOS apps are available in 29 languages and 136 countries, and support devices running iOS 7.0 or later.

Android tablet users can register now, and Microsoft will “be in touch soon to let you know if you have been accepted into the preview”.

It is targeting devices with screen sizes of 7-inches to 10.1-inches, running Android KitKat.