iPad Air news, update: Microsoft Office applications for iPad may soon be a reality, according to a report by ZDNet. The tech site says that Microsoft Office for iPad Air may soon be available to users on the first half of 2014.

Earlier reports have suggested that Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for the iPad will arrive fall of this year, but ZDNet’s sources claim that the schedule has been moved up after former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer approved it to be on the market as soon as possible.

According to Pocket Lint, Microsoft has been slow to release the Office for iPad app. Last summer, it took the wraps off an iPhone version that used a paid Office 365 subscription that will allow users to create and edit documents. This, however, did not include users with the 9.7-inch tablet.

There has also been reports that Microsoft may release a touch-focused version of Office for Windows and developers are working on the project with the codename “Gemini.” It won’t be released, however, until after the iPad version of Office.

The pricing for the iPad version of Microsoft Office has yet to be disclosed, but it is assumed that the company will make it available for free and then require an Office 365 subscription to allow users to edit documents that can save to OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) and locally.

The company is hoping that Office 365 will be a cash cow. Microsoft revealed in January that the subscription business is on the rise, growing steadily, and that currently there are 3.5 million Office 365 Home Premium subscribers.

An iPad app, which is the hands of tens of millions, would presumably allow Microsoft to grow those numbers even further.