Microsoft releases OWA for iPhone and iPad

Microsoft has released OWA for iPhone and iPad, letting users access their Outlook email, calendars, and contacts. These apps are enhanced versions of the Outlook Web App, with added functionality for iOS devices, including voice actions and the ability to receive push notifications. The OWA apps also require that your mailbox has been updated to the latest version of Office 365 in order to work. Microsoft says that these apps aim to provide the same experience that users get on other platforms.

Our goal is to help our customers remain productive anytime, anywhere. This includes providing a great email experience on smartphones and tablets. Windows Phone 8 comes with a top-notch native email client in Outlook Mobile, and we offer Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), which is the de-facto industry standard for accessing Exchange email on mobile devices. In order to better support many of our customers who use their iPhones and iPads for work, we are introducing OWA for iPhone and OWA for iPad, which bring a native Outlook Web App experience to iOS devices!

The OWA apps for iOS are aimed at users working for companies with an Office 365 Business subscription of some kind, and as such, should not be downloaded by most users. But if you have been using the Outlook Web App, just waiting for a native solution, OWA for iPhone and iPad should provide the experience you're looking for. OWA for iPhone and OWA for iPad are separate apps, both available for free on the App store.

Since I'm not using Office 365, if you are, and you try OWA for iOS out, let me know how it works for you!