We knew big changes were coming to Google's office suite with the announcement that QuickOffice was shutting down, but we didn't expect it this fast. Not only does today's Docs update fix that Android L incompatibility, it adds a ton of new features. Hold on to your butts.

What’s New

Fewer persistent icons in action bar

Floating new document button

Adds dictionary permissions for better spellcheck and corrections (also can add words to dictionary more easily)

New account selection drop-down style

Create and edit Word docs

New details page

File list differentiates between Word and Docs files

New editing UI

Open files from device storage

Send files as PDF or Word

It's a pretty tiny version number bump for adding so many new features – just 1.3.144.18 to 1.3.251.9. The entire editing interface had been overhauled with new features and the ability to create and edit Microsoft .docx files. This is the merging of QuickOffice with Google Drive we've been waiting for. There are a few UI tweaks, but the new editing features are the big news. There are a few more screens of the old UI down below.

Old behavior on the right

Old look on the right

It's not quite a Material Design app yet, but the floating new doc button at the bottom is a step in that direction. The app already had a blue action bar, but a few more functions have been moved into the menus so there are fewer buttons hanging out at the top. The account selector has also been tweaked. You'll be able to check it out for yourself even if you're on Android L – the bug that kept Docs from installing on the L preview has been fixed.

More old screens

Download

The APK is signed by Google and upgrades your existing app. The cryptographic signature guarantees that the file is safe to install and was not tampered with in any way. Rather than wait for Google to push this download to your devices, which can take days, download and install it just like any other APK.

File name: com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.docs-1.3.251.9.apk.

Version: 1.3.251.9 (Android 4.0+).

MD5: 05ea9eb8879528592ea08e7dc2235dfb.

[Thanks, Ankur]