Google officially replaces Quickoffice with Drive

By Malarie Gokey Updated June 30, 2014

google officially replaces quickoffice drive

Google acquired Quickoffice a few years ago in hopes that the suite of productivity apps would help bolster its own offerings in Google Drive. While Google was working to improve Docs, Slides, Sheets, and all its other Drive apps, Quickoffice remained available in the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store. Now, just a few days after Google announced the key improvements it has made to its own app suite at the I/O developer conference, it stated that Quickoffice will no longer exist, and is pulling the apps from both Android and iOS stores.

After all, now that Google’s apps support native Word document editing, offline access, data encryption for enterprise clients, and most of the other features that Quickoffice offers, keeping the other app around doesn’t make sense. Users can now use the Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps from Google to do everything that they used to do in Quickoffice, but they will have the added benefit of Drive cloud storage to sweeten the deal.

Google stated that those who have Quickoffice installed on their phones and tablets will still be able to use the app if they so choose, but Google will no longer issue updates on the Play Store. New users will not be able to download the app either, so Quickoffice is essentially dead.

Luckily, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive are waiting in the wings to snap up new users. All of Google’s productivity apps are available for free on the Play Store and iOS App Store, as is Drive, which gives users 15GB of free cloud storage. Now that the app suite is fully functional and easy to use online and offline, it’s a viable free alternative to Microsoft’s rather expensive Office 365 subscription.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…

Computing

Now’s a great time to buy Google Home, Android and Chromebook

The Google Nest Hub Smart Display on a nightstand.

This content was produced in partnership with Best Buy.
Best Buy has a huge variety of cool tech seeing discounts right now, with Google Home and Android products stealing the show, along with some major discounts on Chromebooks. If you’re in the market for one of the best smart home devices or need to land something practical for work or school, it’s worth browsing these deals to see if a discount is available on the piece of tech you have your eye on. You’ll find all sorts of great devices with discounted prices, from Google smart displays to wireless security cameras and from HP Chromebooks to Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
Why you should shop the Google Home sale

Google has really settled into itself as a maker of smart home devices and ecosystems, and right now at Best Buy you can pounce on all sorts of things to add to your smart home setup. Pricing starts as low as and savings reach as high as $500 on a . Low prices on popular products reach across the board, with the , and the 4K model of the . If you’ve already got a fairly complete smart home setup, you can easily shop for a new device that or . Whether you shop for an upgrade to your smart home or shop just to land some savings, get over to Best Buy now and browse the Google Home discounts.

Mobile

I put the iPhone’s Dynamic Island on my Pixel 7 Pro — and I can’t go back

The expanded DynamicSpot Dynamic Island at the top of the Pixel 7 Pro.

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro got a big refresh last year, and key to that was a new selfie camera design with a pill-shaped cutout. Only, this is no normal hole -- it's the home of a new feature, the oddly-named "Dynamic Island." It's a notification bubble that lives behind the selfie camera that displays information like music tracks, timers, and anything else you need to know, but don't need a full screen for. If you're playing music on Spotify, it'll display the track name and controls. If someone calls you, it'll show the person's contact information. Waiting for an Uber? It'll show you how far away it is. It's even tied into the Face ID unlock process. It's a great use of the selfie camera — and one with a bright future.

At least, that's what we thought. The Dynamic Island has had a tough start, as app support was extremely limited, meaning it didn't live up to Apple's promises. This persisted for a number of months before the Dynamic Island finally got what it needed to live up to its hype.

Mobile

Google can create the perfect Pixel phone — if it changes one thing

The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7a held in a person's hand.

A new Google Pixel A-series has launched, and it's sure to make reasonably priced phones quiver in their boots. The Google Pixel 7a introduces new features for the A-series, including a 90Hz refresh rate, the highest megapixel count ever on a midrange Google phone, and the Tensor G2 processor. It's a solid smartphone, and it puts up a good fight against a number of similar devices — including the Samsung Galaxy A54 and even the flagship Google Pixel 7.

But the fact that it's able to stand up against its flagship brethren highlights a concern -- the price. The Pixel 7a costs $499, which is only $100 away from the Pixel 7. That small disparity means there's a big gap underneath the Pixel 7a for another phone. The $349 Pixel 6a helps to fill some of that gap, but it's not enough. It's time Google embraced the budget phone market by creating a Pixel phone for those who want a truly cheap smartphone with the Pixel name. Not convinced? Let me make my case.
A budget Pixel would be good for everyone