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Google Drive finally lets you save any file type offline in your browser
Two years after launching in beta for G Suite accounts
Google made it possible to save any file type offline in Drive's web client way back in 2019. However, it's been limited to G Suite users for over two years as it languished in beta hell. Starting today, it's officially a feature anyone can use with their backed-up content.
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A week following Chrome 90's release for desktop and mobile platforms, Chrome OS 90 is now arriving on eligible Chromebooks. Although Google didn't stuff quite as many features into it like OS 89, the update still improves Chromebooks with several changes to enhance the user experience. Here are all the important Chrome OS 90 features Google announced today.
Google Photos finally lets you add photos and videos to an album before they're done uploading
For the impatient among us
Even though Google Photos storage won't be free anymore going forward, the service is still among the best options when you want an almost automatically organized personal media library. But Photos falls short when you do want to do some organization on the go, before uploading your files — you used to only be able to add photos and videos to albums when they were uploaded. Thankfully, that has changed. You can now add content to albums even when you're offline.
Netflix introduced its Smart Downloads feature three years ago, which automatically downloads the next episodes of a show you're watching while on Wi-Fi, for easier viewing away from reliable internet connections (or on capped mobile data plans). Now the company is expanding the feature to automatically download anything Netflix thinks you might want to watch.
Google Calendar adds offline support for the web
Chrome users will be able to take advantage of this very soon
Unreliable Internet connections are all too common. If you've ever tried to check your Google Calendar while your Wi-Fi was down, only to find that nothing would load, you're in luck — Google Calendar now has offline support for Chrome.
YouTube briefly tested cross-device downloads
The UI is live, but the feature doesn't seem to be functional yet
It looks like YouTube wants to make video downloads easier to manage for Premium users. A cross device offline settings entry has popped up and subsequently disappeared in the most recent Android app versions for some. While the feature apparently wasn't fully functional yet, it looks like it might allow you to download videos on your phone and make them automatically appear on other devices someday.
Netflix may soon let you start watching shows that haven't finished downloading
Think of it as buffering on steroids
Netflix has been around for a long time, and as such, it offers once of the best feature sets of any streaming service. Netflix has allowed users to download select shows and movies since 2016, but it seems to be working on a major improvement to this feature. As spotted by XDA during an app teardown, we may soon be able to start watching downloaded shows before the download is complete.
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HBO has some great exclusive shows that are only scarcely available outside its network, so you need to rely on the cable company's apps to enjoy its content on the go. Besides HBO Go and HBO Now, Home Box Office also offers a European version of its service, simply called HBO. This app has received a new download feature that finally brings it on-par with HBO Go and competing platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Disney+.
Terraforming Mars is a new strategy board game from Asmodee Digital, now available on the Play Store
Yesterday I covered Asmodee Digital's recent announcement that Terraforming Mars would be officially released on Android today. After a quick look at the Play Store this morning, the game is indeed available for purchase. You can pick it up today for $8.99, and this is a premium release, so there are no in-app purchases or advertisements included. Keep in mind, what you actually receive for $9 is the base board game, so the expansions that exist for the physical version are not included, which means the lack of IAPs may change in the future if these expansions ever make their way to the digital versions of the game.
Most streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, allow you to download episodes and movies on your mobile devices so you have something to watch on the go. Hulu historically never allowed you to do this, but times they are a-changin'. The platform is bringing downloads to iOS users on the No Ads plan, and a solution for us Android fans is in the works, too.
Offline use is an important aspect of many streaming apps. Whether you're traveling, stuck in an area with a spotty reception, or you've maxed out your monthly data usage, you should be able to enjoy your content without relying on a connection. That feature is one of the cornerstones of YouTube's paid Premium subscription, and now it's getting even better with automatic downloads.
You've always been able to access Google Drive files offline with the official 'Backup & Sync' desktop client, but given how terrible that application is, it's nice to see the web app get similar functionality. Google added the ability to mark Docs files for offline access (and edit them offline) earlier this year, but now you can save any Drive file.
In what will surely be a boon to Chromebook-related productivity, you can now make individual folders and files in your Google Drive available offline on Chrome OS, but only on V73 and later. That's Beta Channel and forward, at the time of writing.
Since 2014, Chrome has featured a delightful little time waster that kicks in when your device doesn't have internet access. It's a game featuring a dinosaur that hops over cacti (and, eventually, other dinosaurs), in which your score increases as you progress through a pixelated desert. Until recently, that score was lost when you stopped playing, but as of Chrome version 72, it's finally saved — and it even syncs between your devices.
One year after the initial release of Google Lens alongside the Pixel 2, Google has integrated the AI-enabled tool directly into the Pixel 3's Google Camera app, and announced that some functions are available while the phone is offline. These changes add utility to the feature, and serve as a visual reminder to use the tool — something that's been lacking up to this point.
The first Chromebooks were extremely dependent on an internet connection, so to help alleviate that problem, Google published a 'Gmail Offline' app on the Chrome Web Store. It allowed users to read and respond to emails while the computer was offline, but the app hasn't been updated since 2013.
Sometimes when you're traveling, it can be tough to come by data. Carriers like Project Fi and T-Mobile provide some when roaming at no extra charge, but even so, you might have to make do with patchy connectivity. It's a good thing, then, for those of us visiting foreign countries that Google Translate has offline support. And the quality of those offline translations should be improving soon, as Google is bringing its high-quality neural machine translation tech on-device for improved offline use.
Back in March, ever-determined to give users multiple ways to do everything, Google rolled out the ability to subscribe and listen to podcasts directly in the Google app. Now, you're conveniently able to download clips for offline listening by tapping a "Download episode" button in the episode's description.
Google's software Assistant and corresponding Home hardware are there to answer your questions (within certain limits), but it may not always be Google that answers. In some circumstances, including things like service outages, it looks like Google is able to hand off questions it would typically answer to third-party apps or services. With your consent, of course.
About a month ago, we noticed that the ability to download YouTube videos for offline viewing had rolled out to more countries. At the time, we were able to confirm Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco, Azerbaijan, and UAE had it based on our devices and reports from our comment section, but we knew there must have been more. And more there is, in fact many many more.