Microsoft launched its Office apps for Android tablets following a preview last year, alongside new Outlook apps for iOS and (in preview form) Android.

With the new Office release, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents can be accessed and edited on Android tablets, and the apps are available in the Google Play store as free downloads.

Office apps for Android tablets “are built from the ground up for touch and are perfect for mobile productivity,” wrote Kirk Koenigsbauer, CVP, Office 365 Client Apps and Services, on Microsoft’s blog.

“Existing documents open and render beautifully and are accessible instantly from device to device via a roaming ‘most recently used’ file list,” he added.

For personal use, core editing is free while premium features require a qualifying Office 365 subscription. When used for commercial use, a qualifying Office 365 subscription will be required.

Currently, the apps support KitKat (Android 4.4.x), while Lollipop will be supported in a subsequent update.

Microsoft is also working on supporting Android devices powered by Intel chips via a native implementation that will be available soon.

The Outlook preview for Android generated more than 250,000 downloads across 33 languages and more than 110 countries, helping Microsoft “refine and improve the product”.

The Office app for iPhones and iPads has seen more than 80 million downloads worldwide.

The new Outlook apps – a full version for iOS and a preview version for Android – come in response to “tremendous customer request for Outlook across all devices.”

It lets users share files stored on the cloud and personalise swipe gestures to match “unique email habits”. It works with major email services like Gmail and Yahoo! Mail.