Microsoft today shared what's new in the monthly builds of the Office suite of apps to Insiders on iOS and iPadOS. The updates bring the apps to version 2.37, and they include a few new features for Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
For Word and PowerPoint, it's now possible to open two documents at the same time side by side, as long as you're using iPadOS 13, which added support for the same app to be open twice in split-screen mode. You can do this by dragging and dropping a file from the files list, or using the ellipsis menu next to the file you want to open in a separate window. Outlook received a similar feature in February, letting users view their e-mails and calendar at the same time.
Word has also received some improvements to the Read Aloud feature. For one, the reading voices now sound more natural. Second, Read Aloud can detect what language a text is in and read it in the voice specific to that language.
Outlook seems to have received the bulk of the new features, but they're not as significant. It's now possible to schedule a meeting across different time zones. You can also now use natural language to ask about a contact's phone number, or get information about calendar events. Microsoft has added a new section for top results for searches, bringing the most relevant results to the top of the list. Finally, it's now easier to report phishing or spam messages in Outlook for iOS.
The new features should be rolling out now to Office Insiders on iOS, and they'll make their way to all users later on.
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