Google Drive update adds a better video player

Google Drive is hardly an app specifically designed to watch videos, but sometimes you want/need to watch one before deciding whether or not it’s worth storing.

Up until recently, Google Drive’s video player offered minimum functionality and a pretty obsolete look. But that’s about to change, as Google recently announced it’s now rolling out a new video player that will allow Drive users to watch videos directly within the app.

The new video player is not just smoother, but also better looking than the previous version. The first things Google Drive users will notice when they open the video player are the cleaner lines and intuitive controls.

Overall, the redesigned video player should provide Google Drive users with a less cluttered viewing experience, which comes in line with Google Material Design 3.

Besides that, Google Drive’s new video player features improved controls, allowing users to fast forward and rewind videos with ease. Not only that but adjusting playback speed and managing captions is now easier than ever.

As per Google’s announcement, the redesigned video player should provide consistency across Workspace through similar video experiences in both Google Drive and Google Vids, the upcoming video editor.

The good news is the new video player should be available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts.

Unfortunately, it will take some time for Google Drive users to see the new video player in their app. Google says that the rollout should take around two weeks starting from October 22, but only if you’re enrolled in the Rapid Release domain.

For everyone else the rollout won’t start until November 18 and should take up to 3 days for the new video player to be available to all Google Drive users. So, if you don’t see the feature in your Google Drive app, it’s because the rollout won’t start until next month.