Google today debuted two new standalone iOS apps for documents and spreadsheets. Google Docs and Google Sheets are designed to allow users to create and access documents and spreadsheets on their mobile devices.

Before the introduction of Google Docs and Google Sheets, documents were only accessible via Google Drive or the web. Google is also planning to release a Google Slides app in the near future, further growing its line of productivity apps on the iPad and the iPhone.

googledocs
The apps are designed with offline support built in, so viewing, editing, and creating files can be done without an Internet connection. Google Docs supports opening and editing documents that have been previously worked on via another device and documents can be shared and edited by multiple users at the same time.

With Google Docs you can:

- Create new documents or open and edit any that you started on the web or another device.
- Share documents and work together with others in the same document at the same time
- Get stuff done anytime–even without an internet connection
- Add and respond to comments
- Never worry about losing your work–everything is automatically saved as you type

Google Sheets functions similarly, allowing multiple users to work on documents in the app or on the web. The app supports formatting of cells, sorting data, and more.

With Google Sheets you can:

- Create new spreadsheets or open and edit any that you started on the web or another device.
- Share spreadsheets and work together with others in the same spreadsheet at the same time
- Get stuff done anytime–even without an internet connection
- Format cells, enter/sort data, perform various sheet operations, and more
- Never worry about losing your work–everything is automatically saved as you type

Both of Google’s new apps can be downloaded from the App Store at no cost.

- Google Docs [Direct Link]
- Google Sheets [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

Lapidus Avatar
146 months ago
In a few years, I guess this will be the popularity order:
Google > Apple > Microsoft
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C DM Avatar
146 months ago
Again with the horrible, fake 3D bevel on the app icon. Luckily I have no intention of using these apps.
Luckily something inconsequential like that has no effect on the functionality/usefulness of an app.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MyopicPaideia Avatar
146 months ago
I disagree, strongly.

There are two things that matter in picking an office suite:
1 - How easy is collaboration?
2 - How capable is the suite of making great looking documents?

For the first category, Google wins, no competition. It's what their claim to fame is and always has been - it's what they've been focused on from day one. Without that, the entire world would have scoffed, shoved it aside, and kept using Office. iWork is better than Office in this category, but the synchronization is quite buggy when multiple people are editing a single document - it'll regularly see simultaneous edits as being mutually exclusive, even though they have nothing to do with each other, and thus force you to pick one edit or the other, not both.

For the second category, Apple and Microsoft's suites are about as capable of each other. The major difference is that with Apple, it's incredibly easy whereas I have to search through help manuals on a regular basis to make even trivial style changes in Office. Google is in an extremely distant last place in this category. It's okay for presentations (although even then, it's far inferior to PowerPoint and Keynote) but I'd never seriously consider making anything more than a trivial spreadsheet in it or a short, 1 or 2 page list just for internal usage, in the word editor.

Apple is poised to have inarguably the best software - they just need to fix synchronization issues in collaboration.

Oh, and you guys may not realize it, but IBM still makes Lotus. I had always assumed that died when Microsoft made Office, but I was wrong. It's easily the worst productivity suite in existence, but IBM requires all IBM employees to use it.

Aren't you forgetting a third major category? Feature set? Don't get me wrong, I use iWork exclusively as the CFO of a small company, and have basically enforced this on our workforce in an all Mac work environment. Excel has been basically relegated to a glorified calculator and used for legacy files from before our switch, but there are still some things it is better at. (tools for analysis of large sets of data, like pivot tables, as the major example)

iWork is definitely king when it comes to easily making attractive, easy to understand documents and presentations. Keynote is in a league by itself, Numbers is far more attractive and easier to integrate with Keynote than the Excel/Powerpoint combination, and Pages produces equally more attractive end products than Word ever will.

Feature set:
Office, iWork, Google

Collaboration:
Google, iWork, Office

Great Looking, Professional Documents:
iWork, Office, Google

iWork = 2+2+3 = 7 points
Office = 3+1+2 = 6 points
Google = 1+3+1 = 5 points
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Futurix Avatar
146 months ago
I don't get the purpose of the new apps - no new editing features compared to Google Drive app (still no editing for tables embedded inside Docs for example) and (unlike Drive) both apps don't show folders, just one long list of all documents filtered by type. What's the point? To give Google more icons? :confused:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C DM Avatar
146 months ago
But what about PowerPoint?
Google Slides?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mainsail Avatar
146 months ago
I spent the $99 for Office 365 subscription, since we have 5 Macs and 2 iPads in the house. Nevertheless, I predict that, in the long-run, Office 365 subscriptions prices will likely drop substantially.

In the old days, if you wanted to use productivity software, there was basically only one option......shrink wrapped MS Office. Even if your needs were very simple, you were still pretty much forced into it. But now there are viable options for people with simpler needs. Even at work, 90% of my colleagues only use a small fraction of MS Office functionality and features......for most people it is overkill.

This free offering from Google, combined with Apple's iWorks, is one more step along the path to folks migrating away from MS Office. The subscription prices will likely follow downward as well.

Only time will tell.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...