Albeit the update was not officially announced, a quick check of the app on iTunes reveals that web giant gave it the ever so slight bump to version 1.2.2 along with a handful of new features dated January 28th. You can download the latest version of the app now directly from the Apple App Store (23.2MB).
For consumers, the biggest enhancement is undoubtedly that iOS users have finally gained the ability to upload multiple photos and videos at once. This is a necessary move as Google is looking to make Drive the main storage service for users, and getting better at helping them store their media content is a must nowadays.
In fact, the support to upload multiple photos and videos will be a boon, and it is a good move on Google’s part because it is looking forward to making Google Drive a destination for main storage service for users. Also, this is indeed more useful for mobile users where they would like to upload photos and videos shot on handheld devices.
Apart from the capability to upload multiple photos and videos on iOS, QuickOffice integration is another smart move to attract business users. Drive users can now open and save QuickOffice documents directly from within the app. For those who are wondering, Google acquired QuickOffice in June 2012. Google had previously said in a statement:
Google + Quickoffice = get more done anytime, anywhere:
“Today, consumers, businesses and schools use Google Apps to get stuff done from anywhere, with anyone and on any device. Quickoffice has an established track record of enabling seamless interoperability with popular file formats, and we will be working on bringing their powerful technology to our Apps product suite.”
It further said, “Quickoffice has a strong base of users, and we look forward to supporting them while we work on an even more seamless, intuitive and integrated experience. We are excited to welcome the Quickoffice team and their users to Google.”
But more importantly, font fanatics could see the addition of Helvetica Neue to Docs as the big ticket item in the new release, and other minor changes include diagonal scrolling and cell formatting (decimals, currency, date and more) in Sheets, as well as improvements to slideshow, animations, and pinch-to-zoom in Slides.
Below is the full Google Drive version 1.2.2 change log:
- Drive: Multiple photo/video upload and QuickOffice users can open and save back to Drive.
- Docs: Added Helvetica Neue to supported fonts.
- Sheets: Diagonal scrolling and Cell formatting (Decimals, currency, date and more).
- Slides: Improvements to slideshow and animations and pinch to zoom on slides.
Nevertheless, these update surely makes Google Drive more attractive. Google provides a good amount of free storage, and hard core users can buy more storage for a nominal price, and you get the reliability of Google which makes it a good deal.
The update is now live and users can download the update automatically on their device or manually by visiting the App Store.