Microsoft 365 is a collection of powerful office apps and services that are available on Windows, but they aren’t limited to just Windows users. Mac, iPhone and iPads can also get in on the fun and be able to edit versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint files as well as share them via OneDrive and more. Apple users can access the entire suite of cloud-based editions as well as download native apps for many popular Microsoft 365 services.

In this article, we’ll check out which native 365 apps are available for your Apple platforms and explain how to download and install them to get up and running with your favorite productivity software.

Compatibility

It’s important to know which Microsoft 365 services are available for your platform, which can be accessed through a native app and which can only be accessed through the web-based apps. The chart below outlines each of the apps and how they can be accessed.

SEE: Get to know these Microsoft 365 solutions.

Microsoft productMaciPhoneiPad
Bookings
Clipchamp
Copilot
Editor
Excel
Forms
Lists
Loop
OneDrive
OneNote
Outlook
Planner
Power Apps
Power Automate
Power BI
PowerPoint
Project
SharePoint
Sway
Teams
To Do
Visio
Whiteboard
Word

Installing Microsoft 365 apps on macOS

Microsoft makes it easy to get all of the Microsoft 365 apps on your macOS devices through the Mac App Store. It offers a Microsoft 365 Bundle (Mac App Store link) that, once added to your account, will begin downloading Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and OneDrive to your Mac automatically.

ACADEMY: Learn how to use Microsoft 365 in this software and training bundle.

You can, of course, also download each app individually by following these links to the Mac App Store for each product:

To download these apps and install them on your Mac:

  1. Click one of the links to the Microsoft 365 products above to launch the Mac App Store for that product.
  2. Click Get and then Install (Figure A).
Microsoft To Do app on App Store.
Figure A: Installing an app from the Mac App Store is easy. Just tap Get, and it’ll be downloaded and installed. Image: Cory Bohon/TechRepublic

Once the app has been downloaded and installed, you can launch it by:

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click Applications.
  3. Locate the installed app
  4. Double-click on it.
Note: You will be required to sign into your Microsoft 365 account upon opening the apps to proceed with using them.

Downloading Microsoft Teams

One notable Mac app that’s missing from the App Store is Microsoft Teams. This app must be downloaded and installed outside of the Mac App Store. To download and install this app:

  1. Navigate to the Microsoft Teams Desktop download page.
  2. Select the Download button for Microsoft Teams for Mac.
  3. Locate the downloaded MicrosoftTeams.pkg file, and double-click it to begin installing (Figure B).
Microsoft Teams installation interface.
Figure B: You’ll need to go through the installer package downloaded from the Microsoft Teams download page. Image: Cory Bohon/TechRepublic
  1. Follow the prompts, and enter your Mac password to continue with the installation. Once installed, Teams will be found in the Finder > Applications.

Installing Microsoft 365 apps on iOS and iPadOS

On iPad and iPhone, Microsoft has a Microsoft Office (App Store Link) that combines Copilot, Word, Excel and PowerPoint into a single application that can be downloaded from the App Store. With the Microsoft Office app, iPad and iPhone users can also create and sign PDF documents.

ACADEMY: Save on your next 1-year subscription to Microsoft 365.

We suspect many users will want to download the apps individually though. Here’s a full list of iOS and iPadOS versions of Microsoft 365 apps that can be downloaded and installed from the App Store:

Microsoft Power BI app on App Store.
Figure C: Tapping on a link below and downloading the app will make it ready to use on your device. Image: Cory Bohon/TechRepublic

To download and install these apps on your iPad or iPhone:

  1. Tap on one of the product links above to launch the app on the App Store.
  2. Tap Get and then Install to download the app on your iPhone or iPad.

Once the app has been downloaded or installed, it will appear on the Home Screen of your iPhone and inside the App Library. Tapping the app on the Home Screen or App Library will launch the Microsoft 365 app or service.

Note: You will be required to log into your Microsoft 365 account in the app to fully utilize the application on your iPhone or iPad.

Accessing Microsoft 365 from a web browser

Some Microsoft 365 applications that are Windows only and don’t provide macOS, iPadOS or iOS versions do have web versions that can be launched from your web browser. From a Mac, iPad or iPhone, you can launch these web versions of the Microsoft 365 apps by loading office.com in Safari or your web browser of choice.

For the full list of Microsoft 365 applications and services that can be accessed via the web, visit the Microsoft 365 apps and services list.

Setting your apps to auto-update

The Microsoft 365 apps are like trying to catch a Pokemon — you want them all but then don’t want to deal with the update process for each of them. Fortunately, Apple makes it extremely easy to automatically keep your App Store apps up to date. Follow these steps to make apps auto-update on your Mac or iOS / iPadOS devices.

On iOS or iPadOS

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Navigate to the App Store.
  3. Enable the option for App Updates under the Automatic Downloads section (Figure D).
App Store settings interface on iOS.
Figure D: Automatically updating apps on iOS will cause them to download at night and update when your iPhone or iPad is plugged into power. Image: Cory Bohon/TechRepublic

On macOS

  1. Open the App Store app (Apple menu > App Store).
  2. Select App Store from the menu bar > Settings, or press Command + , .
  3. Check the box for Automatic Updates (Figure E).
App Store setting on MacOS.
Figure E: macOS can keep your apps up to date when installed from the Mac App Store, but the setting is a little more hidden. Image: Cory Bohon/TechRepublic

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Whether you want iPhone and Mac tips or the latest enterprise-specific Apple news, we've got you covered. Delivered Tuesdays