Google details new Drive for Desktop client replacing Backup and Snyc

Google Drive for desktop app launches

Google is streamlining its Drive sync services Mac and Windows with a new Drive for Desktop app, which will replace the prior Backup and Sync service in September.

Google Drive is a cloud document storage and sync service available across most platforms and the web. Both enterprise and consumer users have been able to access the service through two apps on desktop, but Google is transitioning those apps into a single, unified experience starting Monday.

Google says the new app should provide a better in-line experience similar to accessing files directly within the file system. Local files are automatically synced to the cloud in the background, so users don't need to wait on manually synced files.

The Drive for Desktop app is currently rolling out, and should start appearing for users soon. Users of the current Backup and Sync app are being urged to move to the new app as soon as possible due to discontinuation of the old app, which will officially be sunsetted in October 2021.

Drive for desktop lets users sync files automatically

Three primary features will be included with the new Drive for desktop app:

Upload and sync photos and videos to Google Photos and/or Google Drive
Sync external storage devices to the cloud, including flash drives and external hard drives
Mirror Drive files on your desktop, which stores your files on your local device and enables quicker access to your content

After September 2021, users of the Backup and Sync app will begin being promoted to move to the new Drive for Desktop app. The old app will cease to function by October.

Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast — and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too.

If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.

Follow AppleInsider on Google News

7 Comments

Murvel

said about 2 years ago

Backup and Snyc. :smiley:

alanh

said about 2 years ago

Murvel said:

Backup and Snyc. :smiley:

Ahhh, you beat me to it! ;)

dewme

said about 2 years ago

The new client interface is so much easier to use and has a more natural fit into the file systems on both macOS and Windows 10. On macOS it looks just like a mounted drive in Finder, which is a little different than the way iCloud Drive and Microsoft OneDrive appear more like folders. On Windows ... it does the same exact thing, even mounting as the G: drive if that drive letter is not already mapped. I'm not sure which method I prefer, but having the same behavior on both Mac and Windows makes sense and all three of these maintain consistency between the two OS platforms.

FileMakerFeller

said about 2 years ago

What baffles me is that there were ever two products to begin with. But this looks promising and should make it much easier to work with.

focher

said about 2 years ago

It’s definitely better on its own, but there’s one use case that it’s really terrible for. If you use a personal Google Drive account and a company one under Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) then you can’t access both at the same time. You have to switch accounts. Previously, you could just run Backup and Sync at the same time as Google Drive to give parallel access to both.

Latest comparisons