#TechBytes: New features coming on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
What's the story
Google is making its office software easier to use for G Suite users around the world. The company has announced a bunch of updates for its Docs, Sheets, and Slides mobile apps, promising a range of features to help you work seamlessly and efficiently, even from your home. Let's take a look at everything Google has announced.
Feature #1
AI-power Smart Compose in Docs
First and probably the biggest change is the integration of AI-powered Smart Compose on the Android and iOS apps of Google Docs. The feature, first introduced two years ago in Gmail, deploys machine learning to learn from users' writing style and automatically suggest them appropriate words and phrases to complete sentences. Google claims it saves 3 billion keystrokes every week.
Feature #2
Link previews in Docs
Along with Smart Compose, the Docs app will also get link previews. The feature will show a dynamic card under a public link, mentioning its title, description, and visual thumbnail. This will help you directly understand the content and information on the site and save the trouble of clicking through and opening a fresh web page.
Feature #3
Improved comment interface in Docs, Sheets, Slides
Google is also adding a single unified interface to access comments on Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps. The feature will end the mess of selecting each comment individually and enable you to "scroll through and respond to comments" more easily in a larger, clearer area. It also offers a quick access button to reply and mention others.
Feature #4
Microsoft Office editing in Docs, Sheets, Slides
Google is also bringing the much-needed ability to view, edit, comment, and collaborate on Microsoft Office files within Docs, Sheets, and Slides. The feature had already debuted for G Suite users on the web and is now coming on Android and iOS, with the release for Android coming first and iOS following sometime later this year.
Feature #5
Vertical navigation in Slides
Finally, to help you review presentations quickly and seamlessly, Google is bringing vertical navigation in Slides. The feature will let you scroll through a presentation in a breeze, and pinch-and-zoom to examine its content. This, as Google explains, will be helpful in taking a quick look at all the slides at once, and making quick last-minute changes if needed.