Google is updating Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps with link preview, Smart Compose, and more

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is updating its office software on mobile devices for G Suite users, adding new features to the Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps that should make it easier to get work done from your smartphone. The changes are mostly visual and include a link preview feature and new comment interface. Google is also bundling in the news that Dark Mode is available for Docs, Sheets, and Slides, though it announced that last month.

The full changes are as follows:

• Link previews in Docs. Tap a link in Docs, and you’ll now be shown a dynamic card with information instead of having to leave the app. That info includes thumbnails, titles, and descriptions for web links, and latest activity and owner information for Drive files. Available now on iOS and coming to Android in a matter of weeks.
• Improved comment navigation in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Instead of having to select each comment individually from the document, you can now tap through comments from a single unified interface. Available on Android now and coming to iOS in the next few months.

Image: Google

• Vertical navigation in Slides. You can now scroll through your slideshows as a vertical stream in Slides, using pinch-and-zoom to examine content. The change should make it easier and faster to review presentations on the go and is perfect for last-minute prep. Available on Android in the coming weeks and iOS in the coming months.
• Smart Compose in Docs. Some hate it, some love it, but for fans of the feature, Smart Compose certainly saves time. Google introduced this AI-powered tool in Gmail in 2018 and then in Docs on the web in 2019. It’ll be available for Docs on iOS and Android in the coming weeks.
• Microsoft Office editing in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Last year, Google made it easier for G Suite users to edit Microsoft Office files on the web. Now, that same functionality is coming to the mobile Docs, Sheets, and Slides app on Android in coming weeks and to the iOS app “later this year.”