The Redmond company will instead be advising those users to use its web-based Office.com and Outlook.com apps starting September 18. But don’t worry, because Microsoft will continue to offer native Office apps for other Android platforms beyond this date.
No more native Android office apps on Chromebooks
According to Kevin Tofel, this is just a Chrome OS limitation being imposed by Microsoft. In order to use the web-based apps, Chromebook users will either need to sign in with their personal Microsoft Account or an account associated with a Microsoft 365/Office 365 subscription. Not long ago Microsoft updated its Support page on how to install and run Microsoft Office on a Chromebook to reflect the coming change. The above-mentioned page now says that the Android versions of Office, Outlook, OneNote, and OneDrive are not currently supported on a Chromebook. This newly updated page advises the people in cause to go to office.com to access Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and OneDrive. However, prior to last week, this same Support page advised Chromebook users to install the native Android versions of the Office apps from the Google Play Store. The tech giant’s only public explanation for this change is that the web versions of these apps provide the most optimized experience for Chrome OS/Chromebook customers. The large majority is now wondering if this isn’t just another competition scheme hatched by Microsoft. Either way, one has to see the irony in Microsoft pushing Chromebook users away from using Android apps on their laptops, as Windows 11 will have support for running Android apps. Keep in mind that Android apps’ functionality on Chrome OS has long been criticized, and Google itself replaced some of its own apps with PWAs on the platform. What is your opinion on this whole situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below,
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