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This particular mess is due to Dropbox, not Apple. For some reason, Dropbox decided to not support the function that lets you open iWorks documents stored in cloud locations. I can store a pages document in iCloud, OneDrive, or Google Drive, and they all can be opened and edited from inside Pages on the iPad. But store a pages file in Dropbox, and you have to use the "open in" function from the Dropbox app to send a copy to Pages.
How much you want to bet this is a condition of the Microsoft / Dropbox integration/partnership.
 
I've completely switched to Office 365 because the abysmal performance of the Google apps on iOS. If Google really wants mobile professionals to work with apps for businesses, they'd better get their act together. So yeah, I can very much relate to the OP's comments. For me, it wasn't too much of an issue switching to MS products, but for others this might be entirely out of the question.
 
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