New Google Drive Desktop App to Replace Backup & Sync and Drive File Stream Clients Later This Year

Google has announced that it intends to unify its Google Drive solutions for keeping files in sync on users' desktops.

google backup and sync drive file stream%403x
Currently there are two desktop sync solutions for using Google Drive – Drive File Stream, which is for business users, and Backup and Sync, which is designed for personal use.

Later this year, these two clients will become one: Google Drive for desktop. Google explains that for Drive File Stream users, this is just a name change, and all functionality will remain the same.

For Backup and Sync users, they will essentially be using Drive File Stream in all but name, except with the features they're used to incorporated into the one client.

The reason for the change is that some Google Workspace customers have deployed both sync solutions, which can be confusing for end users and challenging for IT departments to manage.

As of version 45, Drive File Stream is known as Google Drive for desktop, and the company will give three months' notice for Google Workspace admins and end users before the deadline to transition to Drive for desktop.

Google Workspace customers with end users who are currently using Backup and Sync can apply for a beta of the new unified Drive for desktop experience, which includes Backup and Sync features.

Google says it will announce when Drive for desktop is officially ready for all Backup and Sync users, and will also share more details later this year on how Backup and Sync users can get started with the new client.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
Apple TV 4K hero 221018 feature

Here is Everything New for the Apple TV in the tvOS 18.3 Update So Far

Tuesday December 17, 2024 6:25 am PST by
Apple on Monday seeded the first tvOS 18.3 beta to developers for testing. The update will likely be released in January. So far, there are only minor changes for the Apple TV, with one new feature and a few code changes discovered. Below, we outline what is new in tvOS 18.3 so far. Robot Vacuum Support in Home App First, tvOS 18.3 will add robot vacuum support to the Home app on the...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Squuiid Avatar
51 months ago
They should never have split it in the first place. It was a dumb, shortsighted decision which only served to confuse users and add more work for admins.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Santiago Avatar
51 months ago

How many different apps does this need Google? Isn’t this like the 4th or 5th one?
It's quite simple, really. They had Google Docs, where you stored all your files, then they decided that should only refer to their web-based text documents, with other files now under Google Drive. Then they released the Google Drive desktop client, renamed it to Google Backup & Sync, released Google Drive File Stream with slightly different features for slightly different accounts, and are now renaming Google Drive File Stream to just Google Drive and merging Google Backup & Sync (the old Drive) into the new Drive. I look forward to next year, when they rename it all back to Google Documents and use the Google Drive name for their self-driving cars.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
51 months ago
Great decision! It confuses just about everyone at my workplace.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
barnaby117 Avatar
51 months ago
I saw the update yesterday, too. It’s not a great app, though. Has Google ever made a good app for macOS?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
evatar Avatar
51 months ago
That's crazy this was announced today as I spent more than a half hour wasting my time with their idiotic tech support trying to get my GoogleDrive to sync again via the desktop app. I really don't understand that company. They create pretty impressive apps and get them about 90% there and then just walk away. But that final 10% of development is, like, what makes the app *useable*. So strange how they run their company.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
metabob Avatar
51 months ago
Already yesterday, my Google Drive File Stream got updated it's now called just "Google Drive".
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)