Google Drive Document Scanner Is Getting a Major Update on Android
Google has announced a major update to the document scanner in Google Drive for Android. The company is now adding automatic enhancement to the app’s feature set, which will remove shadows and fix lighting issues when scanning your documents. Google says that in addition to making your scans look better, automatic enhancement will allow the app to digitize documents faster, so you can spend less time correcting scans and more time getting work done. Trick? Currently, the auto-enhance feature is not available in Google Drive for iPhone, which can also scan documents .
Automatic improvement is part of the latest Google Workspace updates for December . At launch, it will include automatic sharpening, white balance correction, contrast enhancement, shadow removal, and a few more benefits. What effects you can apply depends on the condition of the document you’re scanning and the amount of work you need to do to make it easy to read. To use automatic enhancement, first scan any document using the Google Drive app. Then click the “Improve” button in the top right corner.
Auto-enhancement is currently rolling out to Android phones. Devices on the fast release schedule should receive it by January 2, 2025, and devices on the scheduled release cycle should begin receiving it around January 6, 2025. This feature is available to all Google Workspace users, even those with free or personal accounts . ; however, only paid accounts have access to the rapid release schedule.
This feature follows additional updates that introduced the ability to save scanned documents as PDF files or JPEG images , and also gave users the ability to add a black and white filter to scanned documents. Google Drive is still one of the best document scanning apps on Android . Instead, iPhone users may prefer to use Apple Notes to scan documents , or try an alternative called QuickScan (personal favorite).