Google updates its G Suite apps with link previews, Smart Compose in Docs, improved comment navigation, and support for Microsoft Office files on Android
Visual updates for easier work on the go — Google is updating its office software on mobile devices for G Suite users …
Context & Ripple Effects
This update is the mobile payoff of a two-year assistive-writing push inside G Suite. Google first tested Smart Compose in Docs as an English-only web beta for G Suite users in late 2019, building on earlier machine-assistance like the Grammar Suggestions added to Docs in 2018. The August 2020 release moves those assists onto Android alongside link previews and smoother comment navigation.
The other half of the story is interoperability: after improving Office file handling in its April 2019 round of G Suite updates, Google now extends Microsoft Office file support to Android, letting G Suite users work with Office documents on the go. The throughline continues afterward — by early 2022 Google was shipping Docs pageless format and AI-powered summaries — making this update one step in Google's march of assistance features across every surface.
First-order effects
- G Suite users on Android gain web-parity features immediately: Smart Compose drafting suggestions in Docs, richer link previews, faster comment navigation, and native handling of Microsoft Office files without switching apps.
Second-order effects
- Better Office file support on Android lets G Suite compete directly against Microsoft's own mobile Office apps for mixed-format customers, lowering the friction that keeps enterprises tied to Microsoft 365 on phones.
Third-order effects
- If the cadence from Grammar Suggestions to Smart Compose to AI summaries holds, productivity suites converge on embedded AI assistance as a default expectation rather than a differentiator, and format compatibility stops being the moat separating Google from Microsoft.
The trend: Google is systematically porting its web-based AI writing assists and interoperability improvements to mobile, eroding the boundaries between G Suite and Microsoft's office ecosystem.