Microsoft Office Arrives on Chromebooks via Google Play

Update 11/30: In a blog post, Microsoft officially confirmed that the Office apps are available for Chromebooks.

"Earlier this week, we released a preview of the Office Mobile apps for Google Chromebooks. These apps were originally designed for Android phones, and they're not yet fully optimized for the Chromebook form factor," Microsoft said.

"We've done some initial work on the end user experience and want to gather customer feedback. As with all of our mobile apps, an Office 365 subscription is required to edit documents on devices with a screen size of 10.1 inches or greater," the company added.

Original Story 11/27:

Microsoft Office is now available on Chromebooks via Google Play.

Previously, these apps were limited to a few Chrome OS laptops, according to Chrome Unboxed, which first noticed that Office apps were now available on a wider array of devices.

Over the last year, "Office apps would randomly show up on one device without being available on most others," Chrome Unboxed said. "They would work for some users and then simply disappear."

Now it seems the rollout is ramping up. Chrome Unboxed tried it on the Samsung Chromebook Pro, Pixelbook, two different Acer Chromebook 15s, and the Acer C771; "all these devices are seeing Microsoft's Office in the Play Store," according to the blog.

Microsoft didn't immediately respond for comment, but the company has been bringing free versions of its Office software to Android and iOS for years already. Google has a list of Chromebooks that can run the Android-based Microsoft Office apps here.

Chromebooks have seen significant growth in recent year, particuarly in schools. Last year, shipments grew 38 percent year over year, when the overall PC market declined by 6 percent, according to research firm Gartner.

Chromebook users can already tap into cloud-based productivity services like Google Drive, which can convert Microsoft file formats. But as Chrome Unboxed notes, opening up access to Microsoft Office could make the low-cost Chromebooks even more appealing to those who still rely on Redmond's Office suite for work or school.

There is a catch, of course. Office 365 requires a paid subscription for devices with screens larger than 10.1 inches; Chromebooks tend to have screen sizes of 11 inches and above.

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