[App Review] WPS Office is Kingsoft’s beautifully repackaged office suite

Office suites are nothing new to Android, but they have definitely come a long way. Since the late 1980s, Kingsoft has developed and operated a successful office suite. Writer, Presentation, and Spreadsheets have been at the heart of Kingsoft Office for years. Now, the office suite has a name that matches its focus. WPS Office is Kingsoft Office repackaged, and it is as beautiful and useful as ever.

The app is fully capable of being used on a phone, but Kingsoft has optimized it for tablets. This review will be performed solely from a phone. Hit the break for more.

The amount of files that WPS Office can operate with is impressive. The full range of readable and savable files are .doc, .docx, .txt, .pdf, .pptx, .xls, .xlsx, .csv, and .et. Even if it falls into the Other category, WPS Office will try its best to view the file. The Open tab houses the management section. Existing files can be found efficiently by picking from the listed file categories. Interestingly, WPS Office does have a cloud storage option. Don't worry, though, because it brings in your other accounts rather than composing a brand new one just for WPS Office. Files from Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and OneDrive can be imported.

One of my favorite features that WPS Office has is the preview page for a file. Instead of having to open something, you can get a quick look at the file and its information. I wound up using this more than I had originally thought because jumping around files with similar names can get a little hectic. The little snippet window at the top of the preview page is a brilliant touch. The preview page also has a share button to quickly fire off the file to a colleague or friend.

It was mentioned before that the three letters in WPS Office's name represent the three programs. Writer is for word processing, Presentation is to create slideshows, and Spreadsheets is to manage spreadsheets. Kingsoft ensure that each has the same design, so there is familiarity between them. WPS Office is not basic by any means. There are plenty of fonts, formats, and other tools to work with. If you need to compose a really complex document, WPS Office can probably get it done.

The experience is very smooth. Everything is what you would expect it to be. The controls are all docked on the bottom and expand when selected. Tools will be the most used item docked below. It contains everything you would find at the top of a desktop office suite — File, View, Font, Paragraph, Style, Insert, Review — to do common tasks.

There is seemingly no stutter when moving across something like a massive spreadsheet, something that many mobile office suites have a problem with. I was using a powerful device, the HTC One (M8), but I still get an issue with other apps. So expect pretty good performance out of WPS Office. It is a snappy app.

For hopping between open files, WPS Office has a multitasking button that is much like what you would find in Chrome. A number with the amount of files sits at the top of every page. This is excellent for maximizing productivity when having to reference multiple files. The design of WPS Office is superb all around, although not perfect. A slideout or quick access menu from anywhere would certainly be an appealing addition.

WPS Office's biggest competitor, and probably pre-installed on your device, is Google Drive and its slew of sub-apps. For me, the experience with Google's offering is tedious to use because I always seem to do something wrong and the entire document gets ruined. Then I get frustrated and seek the desktop site. With WPS Office, there is a feeling of stability. I could do what I wanted to do without frustration or confusion. Everything is built into one place and Kingsoft really goes above and beyond by including outside cloud services. And it is all wrapped up in a beautiful design. Does it get any more approachable than that?

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