Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) will drop Quickoffice Apps for Android and iOS. Just last week, the search giant announced plans to add new features to its productivity software.
Google shutters Quickoffice in favor of something better
In a recent blog post on the Google Apps blog, the company said there would be an integration of Quickoffice into applications for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. The Quickoffice app will be removed from apps stores in the upcoming weeks, existing customers who currently use the app can continue to use it without updates but new users won’t be able to install the app.
Google’s big change is not really surprising, especially considering months ago, the tech company unbundled the large Google Drive app into three separate applications. The search giant also unveiled exciting new changes for Docs, Sheets, and Slides. One of the changes will include the ability to edit Microsoft’s Office documents, primarily Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Google claims this change was to make it easier for users to share Microsoft Office documents. This is important because Office documents are standard.
A closer look at improvements
The Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Android applications feature in-place document editing. Google has yet to add this feature on the iOS versions, however users can expect to see the updates in the upcoming weeks. The desktop version includes immediate access to in-place editing of Microsoft’s documents and those with a Chrome browser on Windows or OS X can download the free extension via Chrome’s Web Store. In late March, Microsoft made some key changes when it cut the ties between Office 365 and Office Mobile for Android/OS X. The latter applications could be downloaded and used free of charge.
Google purchased Quickoffice two years ago before unveiling the firm’s development team in Google’s Apps Group. The search giant has used this service to compete directly with Microsoft’s Office programs.
