Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Drive video playback gets a serious improve with smoother startup instances and fewer buffering.
- New search filters and smarter search ideas are coming to Google Drive on mobile units.
The Google Pixel 8 might need received the very best smartphone award at this 12 months’s Mobile World Congress (MWC), however Google’s newest announcement might be the true one successful everybody’s hearts — a much-needed improve to video playback inside Google Drive.
Anyone who’s ever used Google Drive for movies is aware of the ache. The expertise is much from clean, movies take endlessly to start out, and buffering throws you again to the period of dial-up web.
Well, these days might be over. Google introduced that it’s implementing Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) transcoding for all new movies uploaded to Drive beginning immediately. This interprets to adaptive bitrate playback, that means video high quality adjusts robotically based mostly in your web connection.
The replace guarantees important enhancements in “join time,” that means the time between clicking play and the video truly beginning. Improvements also needs to be obvious in buffering and re-buffering instances, particularly when scrubbing via a video or watching at larger playback speeds.
This replace is rolling out now to all customers, together with Google Workspace customers, particular person subscribers, and principally anybody with a private Google account. While this characteristic applies to solely new uploads as of now, Google states present movies will probably be upgraded by the top of the 12 months.
Google Drive gets smarter search
Google can also be giving Drive’s search perform on iOS units a much-needed enhance, with Android units anticipated to comply with swimsuit. Users can now count on a lot simpler search filters in Drive, together with class filters like File Type, Owner, and Last Modified, obtainable instantly in a devoted row under the search bar.
The Google Drive apps will even get smarter search ideas as you kind your question, with related filter ideas popping up as you kind. Finally, customers will even have the ability to refine their search outcomes additional after finishing an preliminary search.
The search updates are already rolling out to Google Workspace customers, particular person subscribers, and anybody with a private Google account utilizing iOS units. Overall, these updates are a welcome signal that Google is lastly listening to the consumer expertise inside Google Drive.