Google in early-May announced it was removing the document editing
feature (offline or online) from the
Google Drive app, and
introduced
three new standalone apps for the same - Docs, Sheets, and Slide. While
Docs and Sheets were released immediately for Android and iOS, Google
had promised to release the Slides app soon.
The Mountain View giant
on Wednesday finally released the Slides app for Android, alongside
numerous other more major announcements at
Google I/O 2014.
Unfortunately, no further details about the release of the iOS version
of the Slides app have been given, apart from a 'coming soon.' Later in
May, the Drive app even
prompted users to install the Docs or Sheets app
before trying to edit the relevant documents.
(
Also see: Google Unveils Android for Work; Material Design for Docs, Sheets and Slides)
The Slides app for
Android is now available to
download
for free via Google Play, and can be considered the Google equivalent
of Microsoft's PowerPoint and Apple's Keynote. The app's description on
the store reads, 'Create, edit, and collaborate with others on
presentations from your Android phone or tablet with the free Google
Slides app.'
(
Also see: Google Unveils Drive for Work With Unlimited Storage and New
Editing Tools)
The Google Slides app allows users to create new
presentations or edit any that were created on the web or on another
device. Users will be able to share presentations and work together with
others in the same presentation at the same time. They can also open,
edit, and save Microsoft PowerPoint files.
As mentioned earlier,
the Slides app brings the offline editing feature, and Google emphasises
how users will never have to worry about losing their work, as
everything is saved as it is typed. Users will be able to see revision
history to scrutinise or recover older versions of the same
presentation, sorted by date and who made the change.
(
Also
see: Google Unveils Ambitious Android Expansion)
Google also
says users can also present directly from the app. Apart from adding and
rearranging slides, and formatting text and shapes, and even embedded
videos, Google is also touting the variety of themes, fonts and
animations available to choose from. As before, users will be able to
convert presentation files between PowerPoint and Slides formats.