Google Files Go App Update Brings SD Card View, Tablet Support, 'Open With' Tab, and More

Launched alongside other announcements at Google's Android Oreo (Go edition) event in December last year, the Google Files Go app is getting three new upgrades. A new SD-card only view allows users to filter content based on where it is stored. Files Go also adds support for Android tablets, allowing for a seamless transfer between phones and tablets. Lastly, a new "Open With" flow lets users choose the app that they want a file to be opened with. Files Go is available widely for Android devices.

According to a blog post by the Next Billion Users team at Google, the Files Go Android app has received an update with three significant changes to its functionality. Google claims that many of its Files Go users use SD cards to back up their files. Thus, the update has made it easier to distinguish between files stored on inbuilt storage or external storage with the new "Show SD card only" button that helps find only those files saved on the SD card.

In an attempt to create a seamless experience for users, Google Files Go app is now available on Android tablets. This allows users to "manage storage and transfer files between your small and big screen Android devices without using any data."

And, lastly, a new "Open With" tab has been rolled out to the Files Go app. It allows users to choose the app they want to open specific files with. For instance, users might want to choose their preferred word processing tool to open a word document through Files Go.

The changelog on the Play Store link also suggests that hidden files will now be hidden by default on the app.

The Files Go app has been custom built for Android Go edition phones and will come pre-installed on them. The app prompts users to regularly delete large files to make up for space on phones with limited storage space.

"With these new features, we hope it's even easier to free up space, find files faster and share files offline with Files Go," said Devesh Sarwate - Software Engineer at Files Go.