SoftMaker released new versions of TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations for iPhone, iPad and Android on October 29. The apps from the Nuremberg-based manufacturer are available for free in the App Store and on Google Play. According to the press release, the three programs adopt the new features that SoftMaker Office NX received in July for Windows, Mac and Linux.
At least iOS 15 or Android 9 is required; the user interface is available in German.
What can the new apps do?
The biggest new feature is in PlanMaker. With dynamic arrays, a single formula returns an entire range of results that spills across as many cells as needed. A formula with FILTER, for example, pulls all open items from an invoice list. SORTIEREN sorts a list, EINDEUTIG removes duplicate entries.
Also new are around 30 calculation functions, including XVERWEIS and XVERGLEICH; in total, SoftMaker lists more than 460 functions. The expansion becomes practical with workbooks from Excel: PlanMaker now also calculates formulas with XVERWEIS or FILTER on phones and tablets.
With the subscription, you can reply to comments directly in the document in TextMaker and mark them as resolved, including those from Microsoft Word. In addition, the word processor opens and saves Markdown files, the format of many note-taking apps. Presentations plays PowerPoint files with animations, videos and sound. The slides can also be edited in the app.
What is free, and what do you need a subscription for?
The three apps can be used permanently without a user account and also work without an internet connection; the documents stay on the device. You can connect iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or Nextcloud, but you don't have to.
Free or subscription only?
TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations for phone and tablet, version of October 29, 2026
Free, no account
- Edit texts, spreadsheets and slides
- Formulas with XVERWEIS and FILTER
- Open and save Markdown files
- Work without an internet connection
Only with subscription or NX license
- Printing and export as PDF
- Comments and change tracking in TextMaker
- Pivot tables in PlanMaker
- Presenter view in Presentations
Subscription features according to the descriptions of the iOS apps in the App Store, as of October 30, 2026
Sources: SoftMaker, Apple App Store
Some additional features are unlocked by a subscription in the App Store or on Google Play, in all three apps at once. SoftMaker does not state in the press release which features are included. The descriptions of the iOS apps in the App Store list printing, export as PDF, comments and change tracking in TextMaker, pivot tables in PlanMaker, and the presenter view in Presentations. The new replies to comments are thus part of the subscription, the new calculation functions are not.
Subscribers to SoftMaker Office NX Home and NX Universal get all additional features at no extra charge. An NX license is valid for up to five computers and five mobile devices.
How does the update fit in?
On the desktop, SoftMaker Office NX has supported dynamic arrays, XVERWEIS and replies to comments since July 14, 2026, when the version for Windows, Mac and Linux was released. The manufacturer had announced updated apps at that time as "in preparation." The previous major version of the mobile apps, version 2024, came out in November 2023.
For the apps, SoftMaker mentions neither the AI features with ChatGPT, which on the desktop generate images and draft slides, nor the grammar check with LanguageTool or the Duden Korrektor. According to the manufacturer, the spell checker in TextMaker works in 85 languages.
What this means for you
If you receive Excel files with XVERWEIS or FILTER from customers or from your team, a quick test is worthwhile. It's best to open a copy in PlanMaker on your phone and compare the results with those on your PC before you pass on figures while on the go. How a search with SVERWEIS and VERGLEICH works, which XVERWEIS handles with a single function, is shown in the lesson on dynamic search in the Excel basics course.
If you want to answer comments, print or export PDFs while on the go, first check whether you already subscribe to SoftMaker Office NX Home or Universal. Without an NX license, you can't get around the in-app subscription for these tasks; for formulas, texts and slides, the free version is enough.
A comparison with Microsoft is also worthwhile: How to use Excel, Word and PowerPoint for free is shown in a tip from the Excel course with 40 tricks.
SoftMaker presented the new apps on October 29, 2026.
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