Starting with version 2.106 (Build 26022013) on iOS, users of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel will get the updated comments experience.
Microsoft has announced that it is bringing a “modernized” comments experience to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This update is currently rolling out to iPhone users running Version 2.106 (Build 26022013).
The updated Comments pane experience improves the clarity and usability of mobile commenting by making comment threads easier to find, read, and act on. With a more modern, streamlined user interface, you can more quickly understand what needs your attention, respond quickly, and stay engaged in collaboration as you review your files on the go.
To use it, open a document in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on an iPhone. You can access the new pane by tapping any comment icon already in the file or by navigating to the Review tab. For Word and PowerPoint, Microsoft also added a shortcut directly to the bottom taskbar.
The new comments experience is not the only update Microsoft has brought to its Office apps in the past few months. Before this, the company updated the core applications to version 2.102 with a huge visual refresh that introduced a “Liquid Glass” design language to better match modern iOS aesthetics.
The old solid navigation bar was replaced by a floating “island” containing the Home, Create, and Browse tabs. The Search button also got relocated to the bottom of the screen for easier one-handed use. Microsoft has also been heavily pushing Copilot into its mobile apps for anyone with a license. In Word, for example, Copilot now has the ability to allow it to read and summarize long documents directly on an iPhone.
Despite regular touch-ups, the company has failed to take advantage of iPadOS desktop-class menu bars, keeping the mobile versions far lighter on features than their Mac counterparts. Power users still cannot run VBA macros in Excel or access deep contextual right-click menus, forcing them back to a laptop for heavy work. This gap has led to some speculation that Microsoft is intentionally holding the iPad apps back, probably to protect Surface sales.
