Chromebooks will lose Microsoft Office Android apps support next month

Chrome OS has become a kind of “one OS to rule them all” in recent years. In addition to the application and original Web application Chrome OS, it also gets support for Linux and Android applications. Without a small amount of work, it can even run Windows software to a certain extent. That, however, does not mean that the application experience of other platforms is equivalent to full Chrome OS applications, and Microsoft seems to use it to justify official support for the Android version of Microsoft Office and Outlook. Application on Chrome OS Starting September.

The situation with the first party application Microsoft is a bit messy, whatever the platform is. The office only has several incarnations, and some like views and OneNote even has a vary that is contradictory or incompatible in the same Windows OS. However, simplifying the message on Chrome OS by offering one and only one way to use Microsoft Office on Chromebooks.

In a statement sent to Chromebooks, Microsoft confirms that Office and Outlook Apps on Chrome OS will “switch” to their web partner in Office.com and Outlook.com. It will begin on September 18, 2021, and will ask the user to enter their Microsoft account to access the web application. The company said that it was done to provide the most optimized experience on the Chromebook.

However, some users may disagree with that premise. The web version of Microsoft Office and Outlook Apps are not always consistent with features available in the original application for Android, iOS and Windows. There is also a question whether this web application, both in the browser or PWA, will be able to function offline like their Android partners.

At present, it is not clear what this transition means to those who use the Android Office application on Chromebooks, whether the application will completely stop working or whether they will only not be available for download. Of course, the Android application will still remain on the Google Play Store, and the apk is likely to be still available for users to install unofficially.