A new post from Google indicates that Google Drive users with Workspaces will soon have access to a highly anticipated media playback feature.
Google Drive is one of the best file-sharing services currently available, partially because Google is constantly upgrading it. For instance, in October, Google unveiled a new, revamped media player. This new design, which looks suspiciously like the Apple TV+ video player layout, features new automatic transcriptions and faster load times. Google appears to be adding even more, stating that video load times are being lowered to almost instantaneous.
In a recent Workspace blog post, Google announced that instantaneous playback is now rolling out on the web browser for Google Workspace users. This new addition eliminates wait times between uploading a video file and playing it back. The blog post doesn't detail what changes have been made to the code to allow this, but by all accounts, whatever they have changed is working.
Google is also improving accessibility through new keyboard shortcuts. In the same blog post, the company states that it plans to phase out the old keyboard shortcuts and is replacing them with more accessible options. The new shortcuts will be widely available for Google Workspace users by January 13, 2025. The new shortcuts, at a glance, do look more usable, but time will tell if they improve the experience.
Google Drive isn't the only feature Google has upgraded in the last few months. For instance, a recent report spotted a new AI addition to Google Chrome that helps discover, monitor and relay potential scams on any site you visit. Meanwhile, Google Maps recently saw five major improvements that aim to improve the overall experience. For instance, Google Maps can now offer immersive views and EV trip planning.
Google is constantly working to improve the experience, and being able to watch a video instantly will go a long way toward that goal. Hopefully, the same feature will be added to the Google Drive app to simplify sending and receiving phone-made videos.
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