Google Drive is getting some big changes with a bonus for iPhone users

Date:
Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:48:25 +0000

Description:
Google is adding a new AI-powered Home view for Drive, and finally bringing its Android document scanner feature to iOS.

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Google has announced that big changes are coming to Google Drive , its cloud-based file storage platform. This latest series of tweaks to the
popular cloud storage service come mainly in the form of a shiny new landing page, but theres an extra treat in sort for iOS users.

The new homepage (aptly named the Home view) will become the default landing page for every Drive user when it rolls out over the next couple of months though youll be able to swap back to the old view if you prefer. In a blog post explaining the changes, Google says that Home will be "streamlined" compared to the standard My Drive landing page, designed to make it "easier and faster for you to find files that matter most".

To that end, the Home screen will include personalized suggestions that use
AI to learn which files and folders you access regularly (or documents that are tied to upcoming events in your Google calendar). Itll also include new search chips that make filtering your files easier, and will employ Googles Material Design 3 guidelines for a (hopefully) more modern and user-friendly look. Thats not all, folks

Google isnt stopping there, either. A long-awaited Drive feature is finally coming to iPhone and iPad: the document scanner, which uses your device
camera to take high-quality scans of physical documents which are then converted to PDFs, with the ability to scan multiple pictures in succession for producing multi-page documents.

The feature has been available for Drive users on Android for a while now, so its good to see that Google isnt planning on leaving iPhone owners out in the cold. The document scanner (which was recently upgraded for Android Users) will also use machine learning to suggest names for your scanned documents, such as recognizing a receipt from a store and giving it an appropriate filename.

The scanner feature is rolling out to iOS and iPadOS users now, so if youve got an Apple device you can expect to have it soon if you dont already. The updated Google Drive homepage will be arriving at a slower pace, with early access starting now and a wide release for personal users from January 15
next year.

Im personally a little dubious about an AI-powered homepage for Drive suggested content in the software I use has rarely been useful in my experience, AI-assisted or not. But thankfully Google has already confirmed that users will get an instant pop-up asking if theyd like to swap their default view back to the old My Drive page, so its not like this change is being forced on us. You might also like How to use passkeys to secure your Google account The Google Graveyard revisited: 9 scrapped Google ideas we still miss Googles future Pixel Watch could be button-less



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/software/google-drive-is-getting-some-big- changes-with-a-bonus-for-iphone-users


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