Microsoft Excel still rules on the desktop, but the mobile app (iOS and Android) has quietly developed a few advantages of its own. From scanning tables with your camera to touch-friendly data entry, some Excel tasks are genuinely faster and easier on your phone. Here are five workflows to start using today.

Use the mobile camera to import data

Snap your way to a populated spreadsheet

One of the most tedious aspects of spreadsheet management is the “manual slog”—the process of taking information from the physical world and transcribing it into a digital grid. Whether you’re looking at a printed expense report, an inventory sheet from a warehouse floor, or a table in a textbook, desktop Excel expects you to do the heavy lifting. Unless you have a dedicated scanner and specialized OCR software, you’re usually stuck typing every single value by hand.

The Data from Picture tool in Excel mobile is the perfect antidote to this frustration. To use it, simply open your workbook, tap the Data from Picture icon (usually in the toolbar or Insert menu), and follow the straightforward on-screen steps to turn your hard copy into a digital replica in seconds.

Why it’s better on mobile: While a similar Data from Picture functionality is available in Excel desktop, the workflow there is clunky and disjointed. Excel mobile fundamentally changes that experience by keeping the sensor and the software in the same place, turning a multistep process into a single, seamless interaction that takes less than a minute to complete.

Enter data using the focused Cards View

Edit your rows without horizontal scrolling

Traditional spreadsheets were built for an era of wide-aspect monitors. That design philosophy falls apart when you’re simply trying to update a single record in a massive table. On a desktop, editing a row that stretches across 20 columns requires constant horizontal scrolling. Power users often combat this by using the hidden Form dialog box on desktop to turn a row into a pop-up window, but even that feels like a relic of the Windows 95 era.

Excel mobile’s Cards View takes that concept and perfects it for the modern age. If your data is formatted as an Excel table, tap a row and select the Cards View icon (usually at the bottom of the screen, depending on version). The app instantly transforms the row into a vertical, form-like interface—each column header becomes a clearly labeled field, allowing you to scroll through the data points for a single entry using just your thumb.

Why it’s better on mobile: While the desktop Form tool is excellent for focus, you’re still tethered to a mouse and keyboard. The mobile Cards View provides the same focused data entry in a package that’s far more intuitive, easier to trigger, modern, and optimized for high-speed updates on the move.

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Use voice dictation for quick spreadsheet updates

Stop typing every small edit manually

On desktop Excel, entering small updates still assumes a keyboard-first workflow. Even with dictation available, it typically requires switching tools or modes, which interrupts the data-entry flow.

Excel mobile builds voice input directly into the cell-editing experience. To use it, open the Excel app, double-tap a cell to bring up the on-screen keyboard, then tap the microphone icon (usually on the keyboard). Speak your entry, and it appears instantly in the cell. You can then tap Enter and continue speaking into the next cell without reactivating the microphone each time.

One advantage is friction. On mobile, it’s a single continuous gesture: tap a cell, tap the mic, and start speaking. On desktop, voice input feels like a separate feature layered on top of a keyboard-driven workflow, making it less natural for quick, repeated updates.

It’s also better aligned with real-world use. Mobile dictation works well when you’re standing, moving through data on-site, or capturing quick updates away from a desk—situations where stopping to type is inconvenient. Desktop workflows assume you’re seated and already set up for typing. Where mobile stands out is in short, repetitive entries, such as status updates or field notes. You stay inside the cell, speak the value, and move on without breaking rhythm.

Why it’s better on mobile: Voice dictation is built into the cell-editing flow, enabling fast, continuous entry without mode switching or repeated activation between updates.

Get all the symbols you need with the dedicated Excel keyboard

Reduce friction when entering numbers and formulas

Working with formulas and structured data often means repeatedly typing symbols like parentheses, colons, dollar signs, and commas. On desktop, these are available, but they’re dotted across a standard keyboard layout that prioritizes general typing over spreadsheet-specific input.

Excel mobile reduces that friction via its dedicated data entry keyboard. Simply double-tap a cell to activate it, then tap the 123 keyboard symbol at the bottom of your screen to see an adapted layout—it’s similar to a 10-key keyboard but contains many of the symbols you’ll need, condensed into one place.

This is especially useful during fast data entry or when editing formulas on the move, where every extra keystroke adds up. Instead of breaking your flow to hunt for symbols, you stay focused on the cell and continue entering data continuously.

Why it’s better on mobile: A dedicated symbol keyboard reduces keystrokes during data and formula entry, making structured input faster and more fluid than standard desktop keyboard layouts.

Enter dates instantly with the built-in date picker

Stop typing and formatting dates manually

Entering dates in Excel is deceptively error-prone on desktop. You typically type values manually or rely on formatting rules, and while Excel for the web offers a calendar-style picker, the desktop experience often depends on configuration or add-ins to achieve the same level of interaction.

Excel mobile brings this functionality directly into the cell editing flow. Simply double-tap a cell to automatically surface a built-in calendar icon, which you can select to activate a date picker. Then, instead of typing a date in a specific format, you simply scroll and select the correct day. As soon as you select a date, the cell’s number format instantly changes to a date format.

As well as reducing the chance of inconsistent entries across a dataset, this also speeds up data entry when you’re filling out multiple rows. Selecting from a visual calendar is much faster than repeatedly typing dates or correcting formatting issues later.

Why it’s better on mobile: The built-in calendar picker turns date entry into a single tap-and-select action, removing manual formatting and making structured data entry faster than desktop workflows that rely on typing or add-ins.

The Excel mobile mindshift

Yes, desktop Excel is still the more powerful all-around tool, but its mobile counterpart has real advantages in specific workflows where speed and data capture matter more than depth. Despite its reputation, Excel mobile is far more capable than it’s often given credit for. Once you see that, it’s worth taking five minutes to learn how to actually make the Excel mobile app work in practice.