Edgar Cervantes/Android Authority
long story short
- Google Drive video playback gets a major upgrade, with smoother startup times and less buffering.
- New search filters and smarter search suggestions are coming to Google Drive on mobile devices.
The Google Pixel 8 may have won the best smartphone award at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC), but Google’s latest launch might be the product that really wins everyone over – a much-needed upgrade to video playback in Google Drive .
Anyone who has ever used Google Drive to record video knows the pain. The experience is far from smooth, with videos taking a long time to start and buffering that will take you back to the days of dial-up.
Well, those days may be over. Google has announced that it will implement Dynamic Adaptive Streaming (DASH) transcoding over HTTP for all new videos uploaded to Drive starting today. This means adaptive bitrate playback, which means the video quality automatically adjusts based on your internet connection.
The update promises significant improvements to “join time,” which is the time between clicking play and the video actually starting. Improvements to buffering and rebuffering times should also be noticeable, especially when browsing videos or watching at higher playback speeds.
The update is now rolling out to all users, including Google Workspace users, individual subscribers, and basically anyone with a personal Google account. While this feature currently only works for new uploads, Google says existing videos will be upgraded by the end of the year.
Google Drive gets smarter searches
Google has also given a much-needed boost to the Drive search functionality on iOS devices, and Android devices are expected to follow suit. Users can now use simpler search filters in Drive, including category filters such as file type, owner and last modified, directly in a dedicated row below the search bar.
The Google Drive app will also get smarter search suggestions as you type your query, with relevant filter suggestions popping up as you type. Finally, users can further refine their search results after completing their initial search.
The search update is rolling out to Google Workspace users, individual subscribers, and anyone with a personal Google account using an iOS device. Overall, these updates are a welcome sign that Google is finally paying attention to the user experience in Google Drive.