Smoother video playback and better search

Google Drive, the leading cloud storage solution from Google, recently rolled out two significant upgrades aimed at improving the user experience. These improvements address common pain points and cater to different user needs. Make Drive even more attractive and efficient platform.

Google Drive improves the user experience with improved video playback and search functionality

Smoother video playback: Users used to playing videos directly in Google Drive may have experienced slow loading times and frequent buffering. Recognizing this limitation, Google has implemented Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) transcoding for all newly uploaded videos. This technology enables adaptive bitrate playback, dynamically adjusting the video resolution based on the strength of the user’s Internet connection. This results in a significant improvement in video playback. It offers faster loading times, reduced buffering and smoother playback, even when watching at higher speeds. While this feature currently only applies to newly uploaded content, Google has promised to extend the benefits to existing videos by the end of the year.

Improved search functionality: Google also introduced a revamped user interface (UI) for searching for files in Google Drive, starting with iOS devices. This new user interface aims to streamline the search process and improve user productivity. Key improvements include:

• Easy access to the filter. Commonly used filter categories such as File Type, Owners, and Last Modified are now easily accessible below the search bar.
• Contextual search filters. As users enter their search queries, relevant filter suggestions appear. It helps to narrow the search and quickly find the desired files.
• Refine your search options. Even after reaching the search results page, users can further refine their search using additional filters, ensuring they find exactly what they need.

These enhancements are currently available to Google Workspace customers, individual Google Workspace subscribers, and personal Google Drive users on iOS devices. Implementation on Android devices is expected to follow soon.

By addressing video playback issues and improving search functionality, Google Drive demonstrates its commitment to providing a user-centric experience. These upgrades further solidify Drive’s position as a reliable and versatile cloud storage solution serving both personal and professional needs.