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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Google today launched a new Google Slides app for the iPhone to complement both Google Docs and Google Sheets, putting it in a position to better compete with business-oriented iOS software suites from both Apple and Microsoft. With Slides, Google now offers apps for creating word-based documents, spreadsheets, and presentations directly on the iPhone.

Slides is designed to allow users to create, edit, and collaborate with other users on presentations from the iPhone, iPad, or desktop. The app allows users to create new presentations or edit existing presentations, and it's possible to share presentations with others as well as work on a single presentation with multiple people at the same time. Like other Google apps, Slides saves automatically and works offline.

docs_sheets_slides.jpg
Along with launching Slides, Google has also updated both Docs and Sheets with support for Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, respectively, allowing users to open and edit Microsoft documents with Google apps. Slides is also able to open Microsoft PowerPoint files.
Here's the lowdown on what you can now do with Docs, Sheets, and Slides:

You can truly get stuff done from any device--your iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, laptop or desktop computer. Any change you make on any of these devices is saved automatically, so you can pick up right where you left off any time, anywhere that you can sign in.

The Docs, Sheets and Slides apps come with offline editing built right in. Just make the files you want to edit available offline. Any changes you make offline get automatically synced when you reconnect, just like when you make offline edits from your computer.

And while converting Office files to Docs, Sheets and Slides is a cinch, the new iPhone/iPad apps also let you edit Office files directly -- just like on the Android apps and the web.
All three of Google's productivity apps can be downloaded from the App Store at no cost.

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

Article Link: Google Launches New 'Slides' iOS App, Updates Docs and Sheets With Microsoft Support
 

MartinAppleGuy

macrumors 68020
Sep 27, 2013
2,247
889
Until they use Keynote as an exportable format I don't really care. Appears to be the thing with all apple formats, they are considerably lower in disk space over their Windows counterparts. I have found Pages formats to be half the size of the exact same document in Word.

Just my thoughts.
 

newagemac

macrumors 68020
Mar 31, 2010
2,091
23
How do these compare to iWork for iOS?

They're not even in the same league with iWork.

Google needs to get serious about documents. Microsoft and Apple have native applications that far surpass what Google's web applications do and now they have web applications as well. Google's biggest problem is they don't do native applications well and web apps just can't compete with the integration with the OS, power, and speed of native applications.

The web app based only stuff Google does was good back in 2006. Today's cloud is more than just having a web app. You need to have native applications that seamlessly sync with web versions and deeply integrated into your Operating System. Apple and Microsoft are doing a good job of this while Google seems to be stuck in the past.
 

iMerik

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2011
666
522
Upper Midwest
I find the interoperability of Google Docs to be very enticing. For most of what I document and keep track of in my personal life, Docs, Sheets, etc. do all that I need. I can access them easily from pretty much any device, mine or someone else's.

I think the one compelling reason I would try to avoid using Google for documentation is the mining of data for advertising, as mentioned.
 

numlock

macrumors 68000
Mar 13, 2006
1,590
88
They're not even in the same league with iWork.

Google needs to get serious about documents. Microsoft and Apple have native applications that far surpass what Google's web applications do and now they have web applications as well. Google's biggest problem is they don't do native applications well and web apps just can't compete with the integration with the OS, power, and speed of native applications.

The web app based only stuff Google does was good back in 2006. Today's cloud is more than just having a web app. You need to have native applications that seamlessly sync with web versions and deeply integrated into your Operating System. Apple and Microsoft are doing a good job of this while Google seems to be stuck in the past.

first of all there is no apple and microsoft as apple is so far behind its comical

second apple has a native app and web app that "far surpasses" google sheets? does numbers even do pivot tables?

google seriously needs to work on their ios apps (docs, sheets and drive) but if you look back objectively maybe 6-8 years ago at each companies offering then its google that is improving the most and seems to be the most eager to improve its certainly not apple (sadly)

google already offers offline access to their apps and as i said above their service is only improving. i don't think a lack of a native app is seriously hampering them

Why 3 different apps?

Can't they put this in one app with an option to activate what features you want you use?

isn't there a reason why apple and microsoft both go this way?
 
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8281

macrumors 6502
Dec 15, 2010
495
631
They're not even in the same league with iWork.

Google needs to get serious about documents. Microsoft and Apple have native applications that far surpass what Google's web applications do and now they have web applications as well. Google's biggest problem is they don't do native applications well and web apps just can't compete with the integration with the OS, power, and speed of native applications.

The web app based only stuff Google does was good back in 2006. Today's cloud is more than just having a web app. You need to have native applications that seamlessly sync with web versions and deeply integrated into your Operating System. Apple and Microsoft are doing a good job of this while Google seems to be stuck in the past.



IDK, in my opinion Google's web services are for more widespread and integrated than Apple's. Do they pack as much punch as iWork or Word, no, but for ease of use and multi-user editing I don't think anything really comes close. So many people use Google Docs, especially in schools. I've never met anyone using iWork or trying to share docs using iWork.
 

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Sep 16, 2008
2,384
460
What about just using OneDrive and the free Word Online, Excel Online, and PowerPoint online? I know it's the MS version, but should be perfectly compatible with the native MS apps if need be, right?
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,390
19,458
What about just using OneDrive and the free Word Online, Excel Online, and PowerPoint online? I know it's the MS version, but should be perfectly compatible with the native MS apps if need be, right?
Does that all work on iOS?
 

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Sep 16, 2008
2,384
460
Does that all work on iOS?

For me, it works fine within my Chrome and Safari browsers on my retina iPad Mini. I think there is also a Word, Excel, Powerpoint app, but for free you can only view (you have to pay to edit). But within the browser seems to work fine for me.
 
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Mechayoshi

macrumors regular
Feb 7, 2014
211
3
The Mushroom Kingdom
The advantage to these is that they use way less internal space and you can edit them right in your chrome browser if you have the extension. This means you don't need to send your files anywhere because if automatically syncs in the browser.


Other than that, the iWork apps are of course better.
 

saberahul

macrumors 68040
Nov 6, 2008
3,645
111
USA
Until they use Keynote as an exportable format I don't really care. Appears to be the thing with all apple formats, they are considerably lower in disk space over their Windows counterparts. I have found Pages formats to be half the size of the exact same document in Word.

Just my thoughts.

Really? For me it's the exact opposite. Docx file (the one I am looking at) is 22kb. Same file opened and saved in .pages is 172kb.
 
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