Microsoft updates Office apps to allow on-screen sketching for iPhone

Over half a year after adding Apple Pencil support to Office for the iPad Pro, Microsoft on Monday added a similar feature for written annotations to the suite's core iPhone apps.

The new drawing tab lets people use a finger or stylus to mark up a document. Users can select from an eraser tool, a highlighter, or a pen, with thickness and color controls. Powerpoint users can draw directly on slides, and in Excel, cells can now contain annotations as well as data.

Added for all iOS devices in Microsoft's latest batch of app updates is the ability to store and access data through Citrix enterprise storage solutions.

Microsoft updated Office with Apple Pencil support at the end of January, following the September 2015 reveal of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

The suite's main Office apps — Word, Excel, and Powerpoint — are all free downloads, running on any device with iOS 8 or later.

iPhone users don't require an Office 365 subscription to open and save documents, but the same functionality is restricted on the iPad Pro. Office 365 subscriptions start at $6 a month.