Microsoft updates apps in prep for Apple's upcoming OS updates

Microsoft will update quite a few apps to take advantage of Apple's upcoming OS updates.

What you need to know

• Several Microsoft apps will take advantage of new iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS features.
• Outlook and OneDrive will supports widgets when iOS 14 rolls out.
• Outlook will work with the Scribble feature on iPadOS 14

Apple announced iOS 14 this week, and with it comes changes for how people can use their favorite apps. For example, with iOS 14 you can set third-party apps as defaults, including Outlook and Microsoft Edge. A new post from Microsoft goes through how the company has prepped its apps for iOS 14.

When iOS 14 rolls out, you'll be able to add widgets to the home screen of your iPad or iPhone for OneDrive or Outlook. The Outlook widget will give you a glimpse of your day while the OneDrive widget will show you images from the "On This Day" feature.

In addition to iOS 14, allowing developers to do more, Apple's watchOS 7 provides new functionality. For example, with the new watchOS 7, Outlook will be able to indicate if you're busy.

iOS 14: Everything you need to know

Apple also announced iPadOS 14 this week. Starting with iPadOS 14, Outlook will allow people to write emails by hand and have text converted with the Scribble feature. People will also be able to add hand-drawn illustrations and diagrams to emails.

Microsoft also improved multitasking between apps. For example, you'll be able to open Microsoft Edge and Outlook at the same time and copy and drag text from a webpage to an email. You'll also be able to drag and drop pictures into emails as attachments.

Starting this fall, OneDrive will support offline editing for Office files. The feature allows you to download Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files on an iPhone or iPad for offline editing.

Microsoft also mentions in its post that it will share more news at Microsoft Ignite 2020.