Microsoft releases OWA for iPhone and iPad

By Joseph Keller
last updated

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 (opens in new tab) 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!

Source: Office 365 blog (opens in new tab)

Joseph Keller
Joseph Keller

Joseph Keller is the former Editor in Chief of iMore. An Apple user for almost 20 years, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.

6 Comments
  • iPad version: No access to Tasks, no zoom when reading email. iPhone version: same limitations as iPad version, with the addition of no landscape view.
  • I'm having issues with push notifications.
  • Was loving everything I read but come to find out its not compatible with the iPhone 4, only 4S and up. I hope they do fix this. There is no reason it should not be compatible with the 4.
  • Kind of a bummer that this requires an Office 365 subscription. Don't understand why Microsoft wouldn't allow this to work for those of us that use our iPhone to connect to an employers Exchange server.
  • mpaquette, I am with you 100% on that. As far as i'm concerned that is an epic fail on the part of MS. Of course it lends me to believe that MS is just trying to get the corporate world on 365.
  • I have the exact same issue. I need to connect to my corporate Exchange server but this won't allow me to see my email at all. We need to move away from Exchange to a system that has good email clients.