Microsoft’s Office apps for Android won’t work on Chromebooks anymore

Chromebook users will need to sign in to their personal Microsoft Accounts, or their Microsoft 365 subscription accounts. The company announced the change through its Office for Chromebook support page, and said that users will be able to access apps like Outlook, OneNote, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive and Word using the web services. The page used to direct users to download the Android apps earlier.

While the move may look like Microsoft is pulling support from a competing platform, it actually could make a lot of sense. Google’s ChromeOS is essentially meant to run an entire system inside its Chrome browser, so Chromebooks perform exceptionally when you’re working inside the browser.

“We’re pleased to see Microsoft offer Chrome OS users a more optimized experience and embrace the open web. People love Chrome OS because it provides a speedy, secure, and simple computing experience and helps them stay connected while they work, study and stay entertained,” a spokesperson from Google told ZDNet.

The Windows maker told AboutChromebooks the same in a statement. “In an effort to provide the most optimized experience for Chrome OS/Chromebook customers, Microsoft apps (Office and Outlook) will be transitioned to web experiences (Office.com and Outlook.com) on 18 September 2021. This transition brings Chrome OS/Chromebook customers access to additional and premium features. Customers will need to sign in with their personal Microsoft Account or account associated with their Microsoft 365 subscription. More information is available here,” Microsoft said.