Microsoft's Office apps are finally available for Android smartphones and
tablets. Here’s how they stack up against past favorites
Getting serious about mobile productivity
We live in an increasingly mobile world -- and while many of us spend our days
working on traditional desktops or laptops, we also frequently find ourselves on
the road and relying on tablets or smartphones to stay connected and get work
done.
So where do you turn when it's time for serious productivity on an Android
device? The Google Play Store boasts several popular office suite options; at a
glance, they all look fairly comparable. But don't be fooled: All Android office
apps are not created equal.
I've spent many hours testing and revisiting the six most noteworthy Android
office suites -- DataViz's Docs to Go; Google's Docs, Sheets, and Slides;
Infraware's Polaris Office; Kingsoft's WPS Mobile Office; MobiSystems'
OfficeSuite 8; and Microsoft's Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which finally became
available for both phones and tablets in June -- to see where they shine and
where they fall short. I looked at how each suite handles word processing,
spreadsheet editing, and presentation editing -- both in terms of the features
offered and regarding user interface and experience. I took both tablet and
smartphone performance into consideration.
Click through for a detailed analysis; by the time you're done, you'll have a
crystal-clear idea of which Android office suite is right for you.
Best Android word processor: OfficeSuite 8 Premium
MobiSystems' OfficeSuite 8 offers a desktop-class word processing experience
that no competitor -- even with Microsoft in the fray -- can match. The UI is
clean, easy to use, and intelligently designed to expand to a tablet-optimized
setup. Its robust set of editing tools is organized into easily accessible
on-screen tabs on a tablet (and condensed into drop-down menus on a phone).
OfficeSuite 8 provides practically everything you need, from basic formatting to
advanced table creation and manipulation utilities. You can insert images,
shapes, and freehand drawings; add and view comments; track, accept, and reject
changes; spell-check; and calculate word counts. There's even a native PDF
markup utility, PDF export, and the ability to print to a cloud-connected
printer.
OfficeSuite 8 works with locally stored Word-formatted files and connects
directly to a wide range of cloud storage services -- Google Drive, Dropbox,
Box, SugarSync, OneDrive, and Amazon Cloud Drive -- enabling you to view and
edit documents without having to download or manually sync your work.
The only real downside to OfficeSuite 8 is its pricing model and convoluted
sales approach. Search the Play Store, and you'll find three separate offerings
from MobiSystems: a free app, OfficeSuite 8 + PDF Converter; a $14.99 app,
OfficeSuite 8 Pro + PDF; and another free app, OfficeSuite 8 Pro (Trial). The
company also sells a dizzying array of add-ons that range in price from free to
$30.
But wait -- it gets even more complex: The top-of-the-line OfficeSuite 8 version
reviewed here is accessible only by downloading the free OfficeSuite 8 + PDF
Converter app, then following the link on the app's main screen to upgrade to
the Premium level. That gives you the most fully featured setup available -- but
it now requires an ongoing $19.99 yearly subscription to maintain (a change from
when we last reviewed the product earlier this year). Regardless of the app's
quality, a recurring cost may be a tough pill to swallow -- especially if you
don't have an expense account to lean on.
The best choice without a recurring fee is the $14.99 OfficeSuite 8 Pro version.
That app is identical to the Premium app in UI and provides most of the same
core features, with two noteworthy exceptions: a robust spell-check function
(the Pro version's editor will identify misspelled words inline but not offer
suggestions) and support for a full range of standard fonts. (The Premium app
does have a few other additional features, like an integrated photo editor, PDF
scanner, and custom predictive keyboard, but those elements aren't related to
the core office experience and can easily be found in other third-party apps.)
To add those two noted omissions to the Pro version -- you'll probably want to
get the fonts, at the least -- you'll need to pay $9.99 apiece for MobiSystems'
QuickSpell and Font Pack add-ons, which integrate with the app and fill the
respective voids. Adding both elements to the Pro version would bring your grand
total to a one-time payment of $34.97 -- which, while not inexpensive, may be a
better value than the Premium app's $20 annual recurring fee for most users.
Adding even one of those two extra elements would bring the total to $24.98,
which is reasonable for what Pro offers.
App: OfficeSuite 8 Premium
Price: $19.99 per year (via in-app upgrade)
Developer: MobiSystems
Runner-up Android word processor: Microsoft Word
Microsoft's Word app for Android is full of functionality but at times lacks
finesse. On the tablet front, Word provides an interface that'll be familiar to
anyone who's used Microsoft's office suite on other platforms -- and while it
isn't quite as intuitive or native-feeling to Android as OfficeSuite 8, it's
easy enough to figure out. (Some of the more problematic UI issues I identified
in my initial review of the app have been rectified with recent updates.)
On the phone front, however, Microsoft falters. In its attempt to scale the app
to a smaller screen, Microsoft has created a UI that's clumsy and awkward in
real-world use. Most commands are hidden behind a single editing icon at the top
of the screen; tapping that icon brings up a bizarre bottom-of-screen panel that
takes up half the interface, thus leaving you with little room to see your
actual document. You also can't use your on-screen keyboard while the editing
panel is open, which is plain strange.
Interface aside, Word lacks advanced features that are present in other word
processors, like real-time collaboration (which, curiously, is a core feature of
Microsoft's main Office 365 product) along with automatic saving, the ability to
handle PDFs and other alternate file formats, and password protection -- and it
requires an ongoing monthly subscription if you want access to certain basic
features like inserting page breaks or tracking and reviewing changes.
Microsoft's app is also limited in its cloud connectivity options, with OneDrive
and Dropbox as the only choices available.
For many users, though, the familiarity of Microsoft's software will serve as a
strong advantage -- and those who already subscribe to Office 365 in particular
may be won over by the relatively consistent experience across platforms. Even
with its drawbacks and limitations, Word for Android is a contender worth
considering.
App: Microsoft Word
Price: Free
Developer: Microsoft
The rest of the Android word processors
Google's free Google Docs is a usable tool for folks with basic editing
needs, especially those already invested in the Google ecosystem. While nowhere
near as fully featured as other word processors, Docs excels at cross-device
synchronization and multiuser collaboration: The app syncs changes instantly and
automatically as you work. As such, you can access a document simultaneously
from your phone, tablet, or computer, and the edits and additions show up in
real-time on all devices. You can also invite other users into the real-time
editing process and keep in contact with them via in-document commenting.
Infraware's Polaris Office is a decent word processor held back by pesky UI
quirks and an absurdly overpriced full-feature upgrade option. The app's editor
was clearly created for smartphones; as a result, it delivers a subpar tablet
experience with basic commands tucked away and features stuffed into short
windows that sometimes require awkward scrolling to see all the content. Polaris
also requires you to create an account before using the app and pushes its
$40-a-year membership fee to gain access to certain features -- including PDF
exporting, full cloud connectivity support, and the company's own superfluous
cloud storage service.
Kingsoft's free WPS Mobile Office (formerly Kingsoft Office) has a decent UI but
can be slow to open files. I also found it somewhat buggy and inconsistent: When
attempting to edit existing Word documents in WPS, for instance, it typically
takes several seconds for the virtual keyboard to appear -- which I haven't
experienced with any other app. (I experienced this on multiple devices with WPS,
so it wasn’t specific to any one phone or tablet.)
DataViz's Docs to Go (formerly Documents to Go) has a dated, inefficient UI,
with basic commands buried behind layers of pop-up menus and a design
reminiscent of Android's 2010 Gingerbread era. While it offers a reasonable set
of features, it lacks functionality like image insertion and spell check; also,
it's difficult to find and open locally stored documents. In addition, it
requires a $14.99 Premium Key to remove ads peppered throughout the program and
to gain access to any cloud storage capabilities.
Best Android spreadsheet editor: OfficeSuite 8 Premium
With its outstanding user interface and comprehensive range of features,
OfficeSuite 8 stands out above the rest in the realm of spreadsheets. Like its
word processor, MobiSystems’ spreadsheet editor is clean, easy to use, and fully
adaptive to the tablet form.
It's fully featured, too, with all the mathematical functions you'd expect
organized into intuitive categories and easily accessible via a prominent
dedicated on-screen button. Other commands are broken down into standard
top-of-screen tabs on a tablet or are condensed into a drop-down menu on a
smartphone.
From advanced formatting options to multiple-sheet support, wireless printing,
and PDF exporting, there's little lacking in this well-rounded setup. As
mentioned above, OfficeSuite offers a large list of cloud storage options to
which you can connect to keep your work synced across multiple devices.
App: OfficeSuite 8 Premium
Price: $19.99 per year (via in-app upgrade)
Developer: Mobile Systems
Runner-up Android spreadsheet editor: Microsoft Excel
Microsoft's Excel has a respectable set of features and is quite commendable
on the tablet side of things. The interface follows Microsoft's typical Excel
design and should require little to no learning curve for anyone accustomed to
that software.
On a smartphone, however, Excel suffers from the same UI flaws as the company's
word processing application. Using the app on a smaller device is passable but
not a great experience.
While the core spreadsheet functions are plentiful, as with Word, broader office
suite features like real-time collaboration, save-to-PDF support, and password
protection are missing in Microsoft's mobile offering -- and no notable features
are added to Excel with a paid Office 365 subscription.
Again, it's all relative. Excel's impressive spreadsheet functionality and
familiar presentation -- not to mention its free nature -- make for an appealing
combination. However, be sure you're OK with the aforementioned drawbacks
compared to the higher-ranked OfficeSuite application.
App: Microsoft Excel
Price: Free
Developer: Microsoft
The rest of the Android spreadsheet editors
Google Sheets is fine for basic viewing or tweaking of a simple spreadsheet
but is quite limited in functionality compared to other contenders. You can
enter and manipulate data and perform standard spreadsheet functions, but the
app lacks tools for more advanced tasks like sorting cells, freezing cells, and
inserting images or charts. Its saving grace is the integrated cloud syncing and
multiuser/multidevice collaboration that Google does so well.
Polaris Office still suffers from a subpar, non-tablet-optimized UI -- and with
the spreadsheet editor specifically, touch targets are bewilderingly small,
which is frustrating for a device that's controlled by fingers. The app offers
an admirable set of features, though, even if the options aren't ideally
presented or easily accessible.
WPS Mobile Office is OK but unexceptional: It's sometimes slow to open files,
and its Function command -- a vital component of spreadsheet work -- is hidden
in the middle of an Insert menu. On the plus side, it has an impressive range of
features and doesn't seem to suffer from the keyboard bug present in its
word-processing counterpart.
Docs to Go is barely in the race. Its embarrassingly dated UI makes no attempt
to take advantage of the tablet form: Every command is buried behind multiple
layers of pop-up menus, all of which are accessible only via an awkward
hamburger icon at the top right of the screen. The app's Function command
doesn't even offer descriptions of what the options do -- only Excel-style lingo
like ABS, ACOS, and COUNTIF. And during my testing, the app failed to open some
perfectly valid Excel (.xlsx) files I used across all the programs as samples.
Best Android presentation editor: OfficeSuite 8 Premium
OfficeSuite 8’s intuitive, tablet-optimized UI makes it easy to edit and
create presentations on the go. Yet again, it's the best-in-class contender for
most users. (Are you starting to sense a pattern here?)
OfficeSuite offers loads of options for making slides look professional,
including a variety of templates and a huge selection of slick transitions. It
has tools for inserting images, text boxes, shapes, and freehand drawings into
your slides, and it supports presenter notes and offers utilities for quickly
duplicating or reordering slides. You can export to PDF and print to a
cloud-connected printer easily.
If you're serious about mobile presentation editing, OfficeSuite 8 is the most
well-rounded option available.
App: OfficeSuite 8 Premium
Price: $19.99 per year (via in-app upgrade)
Developer: Mobile Systems
Runner-up Android presentation editor: Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft's PowerPoint provides a strong set of tools for creating and
editing presentations on the go, including an impressive array of templates,
themes, and transitions. While it lacks a few bells and whistles present in
OfficeSuite's editor -- like the ability to insert a freehand drawing into a
slide -- it has no shortage of options for creating polished presentations.
Like Microsoft's other apps, however, PowerPoint for Android is missing basic
office suite features such as password protection, the ability to export to PDF,
and the option to sync with any cloud providers beyond Microsoft OneDrive and
Dropbox. Its phone interface could also be better.
Still, PowerPoint is pretty good, all in all -- and it should be more than
capable of handling the mobile editing needs of most users. It's a small step
below our top pick in both feature availability and overall user experience.
App: Microsoft PowerPoint
Price: Free
Developer: Microsoft
The rest of the Android presentation editors
Google Slides is bare-bones: You can do basic text editing and formatting,
and that's about it. The app offers predefined arrangements for text box
placement -- and includes the ability to view and edit presenter notes -- but
with no way to insert images or slide backgrounds and no rich templates or
transitions, it's impossible to create a presentation that looks like it came
from this decade.
Polaris Office has a decent set of features, including a small set of basic
templates to help you get started. They're far less polished and
professional-looking than OfficeSuite's or PowerPoint's, but they're at least
something. Polaris offers no way to duplicate an existing slide, however, nor
does it sport any transitions to give your presentation pizzazz.
WPS Mobile Office is quite basic, though with a few flourishes: The app allows
you to insert images, shapes, tables, and charts in addition to plain ol' text.
Like Google Slides, it lacks templates, transitions, and any other advanced
tools, and the results won't look polished or professional.
Last and again least, Docs to Go -- as you're probably expecting by this point
-- borders on unusable. The app's UI is dated and clunky, and the editor offers
practically no tools for modern presentation creation. You can't insert images
or transitions; even basic formatting tools are sparse. Don't waste your time
looking at this app.
InfoWorld scorecard: Office apps for Android
The results are clear: OfficeSuite 8 is by far the best overall office suite on
Android today. From its excellent UI to its commendable feature set, the app is
in a league of its own. Of course, it comes at a cost: At $19.99 per year, the
full Premium version isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for -- in this case,
the best mobile office experience with next to no compromises. For those who
prefer a one-time payment rather than an ongoing subscription (who doesn't?),
the OfficeSuite 8 Pro version ($14.99) provides the same core experience, though
you'll have to purchase separate $9.99 add-ons in order to get an enhanced
spell-check function and full font support (the latter, at the very least, most
people will want).
Microsoft's new Office apps are a distant second in overall quality, but they're
still quite good and worth considering -- particularly given OfficeSuite's
elevated cost, and particularly for someone who is committed to Microsoft's
software and/or already a paid Office 365 subscriber. Even without a paid
subscription, the Android versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are perfectly
decent options for users who want respectable free apps for mobile productivity
and aren't worried about having the absolute best user experience or most
complete set of features.
If basic on-the-go word processing is all you require, meanwhile -- and you work
primarily with Google services -- Google's free Docs app may be a viable choice.
The company's spreadsheet and presentation editors are less functional, but
depending on your needs, they might suffice. And the full suite's cross-device
synchronization and multiuser collaboration are very compelling benefits of
going the Google route -- again, as long as your feature requirements are
minimal.
Polaris Office is adequate but unremarkable. OfficeSuite and Microsoft's Office
apps are more powerful and pleasant to use, while Google's productivity tools
have the clear cloud-centric advantages. Polaris fails to stand out for any
particular strength, which makes it difficult to recommend enthusiastically
among the more outstanding alternatives.
WPS Mobile Office is a small but significant step behind that, meanwhile, while
Docs to Go is far too flawed to be taken seriously as an option.
With that, you're officially armed with all the necessary knowledge to make your
decision. Grab the mobile office suite that best suits your needs -- and be
productive wherever you may go.
