Google Drive is a decent service in its own right, but one aspect of it is absolutely terrible: the desktop sync client for Mac and Windows. ‘Backup and sync’, as it’s been called since 2017, is so slow and buggy that it makes Cyberpunk 2077 look like a perfect creation. Finally, Google is eliminating the customer in favor of the synchronization software developed for G Suite customers.
Google wrote in a blog post: “We have two sync solutions available – Drive File Stream, which is designed for business users, and Backup and Sync, designed for consumer users. Some of our Google Workspace customers have deployed both solutions for synchronization, which can be confusing for end users and challenging for IT departments to manage. To address this, we plan to unify these sync clients in late 2021, bringing the most used features from Drive File Stream and Backup and Sync for all of our Commercials. “
Google Drive File Stream on Mac
Google plans to replace the current Backup and Sync application with File Stream, which is what G Suite customers have been using for some years. Unlike Backup and Sync, which downloads all of your selected folders and keeps them in sync, File Stream displays your files as empty aliases that are downloaded only when an application wants to open them (similar to how OneDrive and Dropbox work for pattern). You can still bookmark files or folders for offline access, and Google started allowing regular Gmail accounts to access File Stream last year.
For now, Google is renaming File Stream to ‘Google Drive for desktop’ and the company is starting to work on an updated version with some features transferred from Backup and Sync. Some of the planned changes are explained in the beta test application:
We’re bringing Backup and Sync features to Google Drive for the desktop to create a simpler user experience. New features for Google Drive for desktop include syncing folders like Documents or Desktop or Drive storage, uploading from USB devices, uploading photos and videos to Google Photos or Google Drive and support for multiple accounts.
It will be interesting to see if Google can really produce a good sync client for personal and G Suite accounts or if the eventual replacement will be as bad as Backup and sync. Personally, I also hope to have a Linux client.