Microsoft 365 and OneDrive can now be installed as Progressive Web Apps (PWA) on Chrome OS. The step itself seems small, but it is a fundamental about-face: In order to use Office applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, users previously had to call them up via the browser – because Microsoft refused to work with Google in the Office area.
Even if the PWAs under the hood are also just web applications that lag behind the native applications in terms of functionality, the OneDrive integration in particular will be a real step forward: it is installed with the Chromebook’s files app connected and 365 applications automatically store their documents in Microsoft’s storage service.
Microsoft: no help for the Chrome OS competition for a long time
Initially, only dev and beta users can test the new functions, the public launch is scheduled to follow later this year. Alongside Linux, Chrome OS has been one of the few platforms that Microsoft 365 ignored. The Redmond-based company has long provided Google’s Android with native apps that also run on Chromebooks. However, the Windows Phone is long gone, while the SE series consisting of Surface laptop and customized Windows should continue to compete with Google’s Chrome OS in education.
(fo)
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