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Will the new Google Drive replace Google+ photo back up?

With the confirmation last week that Bradley Horowitz is now heading Google+, taking over from Vic Gondutra, people have been speculating about the fate of Google's social network. The first big change is that it is now divided into two products, Photos and Streams, although no one knows exactly what that means. A leaked file for an upcoming update to Google Drive may give a clue as to its fate, at least with the Photos part of Google+.



Android Police has obtained a copy of the update, and based on the strings and modifications, it looks like Google Drive will be the one to back up your photos and videos that have been saved on your Android smartphone or tablet. That is still currently the job of Google+, and it's highly unlikely that Google will get two different products to do the same job. So speculation is rife that there will be an overhaul of the function of the Photo part of Google Plus, although it doesn't necessarily mean it will go away.


Another upcoming new feature for Google Drive's supposed update is something that users have been clamoring for: Chromecast support. It seems that there are certain strings in the code that come from a convenience library called CastCompanionLibrary and to make the long story short (or rather the complicated story simpler), you might be able to cast audio and video files directly from your Google Drive onto your Chromecast, which will then cast it to your bigger screen.


However, all these things aren't confirmed or final yet, as Google sometimes changes stuff prior to the release of an update. But it looks like "exciting" times are ahead for users as we will see changes, and hopefully all are for the better.


VIA: Android Police