Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Drive appears to be working on major changes to file uploads, providing much more feedback on what’s happening.
- The progress indicators should start to actually show what stage your download is at, rather than just spinning endlessly.
- A new downloads screen will keep track of all your file transfers, past and queued.
When you want to move files on or off your phone, you have plenty of options, from quick sharing to simply removing a USB cable. But Google Drive is arguably one of the most convenient solutions for Android users, as it handles large files with ease and makes it easy to share them with others. While there’s already a lot to like, Google has been working on a few tweaks that promise to make using Drive even better, by way of a completely redesigned upload experience.
A APK Disassembly helps predict features that might come to a service in the future based on the code currently being developed. However, these predicted features may not be publicly released.
Right now, uploading files from your phone to Drive is a bit rudimentary. You browse your device, choose your file, and watch the indicator spin as it uploads to Google’s cloud. While that’s effective, Drive could soon get much more elaborate upload tools.
We’re looking at Google’s new Drive 2.24.347 release, where we can enable some in-development changes to get an early preview.
Until now, there was no explicit location for downloads in Drive; files in progress appear at the top of this list, but that’s it. But Google seems to be working on a dedicated location Downloads screen that you will access through the app menu. Here you will be able to see all your upcoming, current and even previous downloads, all in one convenient place.
Google is also working on displaying the actual download progress, replacing the endlessly spinning circle with a slowly filling circle to reflect the completion of the download. Additionally, you will get a numerical percentage display and will also be able to see the total file size for your reference. When downloading large files like high-resolution videos, this seems like a very welcome and long-awaited change. Drive is also working on a progress bar at the bottom of the screen, where you will always be able to check at a glance what stage your downloads are at.
Expect Drive to start being more explicit about what it does with your downloads. While until now the app has simply defaulted to placing them in the folder you’re viewing when the download begins, we’ve found evidence that the app might start asking you to specify where Drive should store each file, as you can see above.
All of this will likely be coming soon, though it’s entirely possible that Google will change its mind about some of these changes before they’re publicly implemented. One new change you can already try is Drive’s implementation of predictive back gestures, which are handy when you’re switching between folders. For the rest, you’ll just have to wait.
