Mobile vs Desktop Power BI

Power BI is available on both desktop and mobile, but the two serve different purposes in the overall workflow.

Power BI Desktop

  • Used for authoring - connecting to data, transforming it, and building visuals and reports.
  • Full access to Power Query, data modeling, and DAX calculations.
  • Windows-only application.

Power BI Mobile

  • Used for viewing and light interaction with already-published reports and dashboards.
  • Available on iOS, Android, and Windows devices.
  • Optimized layouts for smaller screens, plus features like data alerts and offline access to recently viewed reports.

Feature Comparison

Desktop: Author reports, transform data, build the data model
Mobile:  View reports, receive alerts, annotate and share snapshots

Designing for Both

Report authors can create a separate phone-optimized layout in Power BI Desktop, arranging visuals vertically so they display cleanly on mobile screens without extra scrolling or zooming.

Mobile Power BI is built for consumption, not creation - a finished, well-designed desktop report becomes far more useful on mobile once a dedicated phone layout has been set up for it.

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