Google Releases New Universal 'Quickoffice' iOS App for Free

Google today announced plans to make its Quickoffice software free to all users. Quickoffice, which was reintroduced on iOS last year after Google purchased the software company, is designed to allow Google users to view and edit Microsoft Office files. Google's decision to make Quickoffice available for free comes after Apple announced that its own iWork software (along with iPhoto and iMovie) would be provided for free with new iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches.

Google is introducing a newly unified Quickoffice app that supports both the iPad and the iPhone. The app also integrates with Google Drive storage, letting users save and access files from anywhere. Previous versions of Quickoffice have been removed from the App Store, and Google is encouraging existing users to download the new app.

Everyone likes free stuff, which is why starting today we’re making Quickoffice available for free, for everyone. With Quickoffice, you can edit Microsoft® Office documents across your devices, giving you the freedom to work with anyone no matter what hardware or software they’re using.

Quickoffice also integrates seamlessly with Google Drive storage so you can safely access your files from anywhere. And while the easiest thing to do is simply convert your old files to Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, Quickoffice gives you another way to work with people who haven’t gone Google yet.

Google's newly released Quickoffice app also offers a number of new features, including a refreshed icon, the ability to create .ZIP folders, and view charts in Excel and PowerPoint files.

Google is giving users who sign into their Google Accounts from the Quickoffice app by September 26, 2013 an extra 10GB of Google Drive storage for the next two years.

Quickoffice can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]