Microsoft will stop supporting Office Android apps on Chrome OS next month

On August 25, Microsoft confirmed it would stop supporting Office Android apps on Chrome OS from September 18. The company admitted that it was 'converting' Microsoft apps to a web experience to deliver an immersive experience. the best for customers.

Microsoft's Office suite of apps arrived on Android in 2015 and is regularly updated, bringing tons of features to the apps. This change seems to only affect Chrome OS users, who can continue to use the Office suite on Android phones.

The Redmond company has long restricted the functionality of its Office mobile application suite to non-smartphone devices. In addition, the company regularly requires users to subscribe to Office 365 (Microsoft 365) to experience additional features for non-smartphone devices, such as the iPad Pro. The change to Chrome OS applies to all users who want to keep Android apps on devices with larger screens.

"In an effort to deliver the most optimized experience to Chrome OS / Chromebook customers, Microsoft applications (Office and Outlook) will be transformed into a web experience," Microsoft said.

While the change could also help streamline options for Chrome OS users, the web version of the app doesn't have as many features as the stock Android version. The biggest downside is the lack of offline support. While Office and Outlook PWAs can be installed as applications, some functions, such as creating new documents, redirect the user to the web browser, making it a poor alternative. more feasible.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 26 August 2021