Microsoft’s Free Upgrade Offer For Millions Of iPhone Users
Upgrade arrives September 15
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Microsoft has something shiny and new for Apple’s iPhone users — but this free upgrade comes with a warning. As the company rushes to AI-everything on Windows PCs, it turns out that smartphones are not immune. Copilot is now taking over.
Microsoft confirmed to Windows Latest that the app that was once the simple Office 365 is being upgraded to Microsoft 365 Copilot. But in doing so it loses the ability to edit Word, PowerPoint or Excel files. Instead you get an AI-fueled viewer and Copilot to summarize your files and answer your questions. But not to edit your documents.
Assuming you still want to edit files, you’ll need to install the standalone Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps, there will no longer be an all-in-one option.
If Windows Latest is anything to go by, the there could be a user backlash coming, as one app becomes four and the easy access of the past disappears.
“It really makes me wonder how Microsoft can consistently come up with stupid ideas. This move turns the Microsoft 365 iPhone app into a Copilot-powered viewer only. You must open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint for even small edits. It also breaks simple flows, and it’s definitely going to confuse people about where to chat and where to edit.”
There is another security and privacy issue though. iPhone users will soon find themselves with a heady mix of Siri (via Apple), ChatGPT (via Siri), Gemini (via Google). MetaAI (via WhatsApp) and Copilot (via Microsoft). All on one device. Add in a new AI browser and any other chatbot or AI assistant and we’re out on thin ice.
I suspect if you ask 100 iPhone users what the privacy and security policies are across this mixed bag of apps, you’ll get 100 different answers. In reality, no one knows. And while Apple invested heavily in its Private Cloud Compute to secure its badged AI queries, none of these other platforms use the same secure enclave.
As new AI engines are stitched into our most-used apps, just as with Gemini upgrades to Gmail, AI becomes less of an option and more of a mandatory feature upgrade. Yes, this latest move is another free AI upgrade, but how much is too much?
This change starts rolling out to iPhone on September 15. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the same change also rolls out to Android in the next few weeks,” Windows Latest says.