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What you need to know
- Google is reportedly testing a few changes for its Docs app on Android, such as implementing better smartphone-friendly placement for the formatting tool.
- The tool could end up in the bottom toolbar, as well as another update for the app's search feature that could bring filters for better file discoverability.
- Google Docs had a major update that brought Gemini to Android users, so they could summarize lengthy files and get their questions answered.
It looks like Google is working on a future update for its Docs app on Android that could greatly improve the user experience.
These supposed changes were spotted by Android Authority in a recent Google Docs app version for Android. There are two major updates Google is reportedly testing, one of which involves a more smartphone-friendly (one-handed) rework. According to the publication, this rework involves the Docs app's formatting tool. Google has been spotted moving this tool down to the bottom of the app's UI, in the toolbar that typically houses the bold, italics, bullet point, and other options.
The post even highlights an alert that Google could deliver once this update arrives, which draws attention to the formatting tool's new home.
The bottom bar is also getting a small, but useful, change. In conjunction with the tipster AssembleDebug, the post states that the toolbar at the bottom of a Doc on Android could be "horizontally scrollable."
Another more noteworthy update spotted in testing concerns new filters in Docs for Android. These filters can be applied to searches in the app, and include filters for file type, people (file owner), and modified (when it was last changed). Filtering your content by type will surface any stored documents, presentations, and spreadsheets.
Bringing all this together is Google's Material 3 Expressive design language, which the tipster states has been spotted in the test. Android's new design language has been slowly making its way into more and more Google apps, so this change isn't too surprising to see being hinted at.
It's unclear when users could see this update drop, as the changes were spotted after an APK teardown of v1.25.381.00.90.
Google gave its Android users some love through a Docs update recently, as Gemini rolled out. Android users got Gemini's intelligence for quick document summaries and the ability for the AI to answer your questions about files. Moreover, Gemini's appearance could help users get that rough draft out quicker by compiling their early thoughts into something they can work with.
Gemini in Google's Workspace apps didn't stop there, as a major AI drop brought personalized suggestions based on your data for Calendar, Gmail, Keep, and more.
