Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Drive on Android is working on introducing Gemini-based PDF summary capabilities, similar to those found on Drive on the web.
- Users will soon be able to access PDF summaries directly within the PDF viewer via a three-dot menu or header icon.
- The app is also working on multi-file and limited folder summarization features that allow content across various Docs and PDFs to be summarized simultaneously.
Google Drive has received many Gemini-related features over the past months. However, many of these features first come to Google Drive on the Web before making their way over to the Android app. We’ve now spotted that Google Drive on Android could soon serve PDF summaries through the PDF viewer. Further, the ability to summarize files through the file viewer window will also support selecting multiple files to summarize them together.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Google Drive on the Web already serves automatic PDF summaries. Now, Google Drive v2.25.250 for Android includes code for PDF summarization through Gemini. We managed to activate the feature ahead of its release to give you an early look:
In the near future, users will likely be able to summarize PDFs that are either stored in their Google Drive or received through Google Drive. For this, they won’t need to exit the PDF viewer and ask Gemini within Drive to summarize the file — instead, they will be able to trigger Gemini from within the PDF viewer. Users will be able to click on the three-dot icon on the top right and choose the Summarize this file option. They can also tap the Gemini icon in the header and type in their request to summarize the PDF.
Note that this feature is unlikely to work with offline PDFs that you are opening through Google Drive’s PDF viewer, so don’t try summarizing downloaded files. Your best bet would be to keep the PDF files on Drive to get a summary.
Unfortunately, these PDF summaries are not automatically displayed yet, as they are on the web. However, this won’t be a big deal, as you will be able to manually initiate a summary for any PDF you need summarized.
In addition to all of this, the file summarization feature will also make it easier for users to summarize multiple files and folders. Selecting multiple files will be very easy, as users will likely be able to select multiple PDFs and Docs by long-pressing them. We managed to activate the feature ahead of its release for an early look:
Users will also be able to select a folder along with the files, but they may be restricted to selecting only one folder. We couldn’t get the process to work when multiple folders were selected, as you can see in the last screenshot above, where the Gemini icon no longer stays highlighted. Thankfully, there seems to be no limit to how many PDFs and Docs you can select, which should easily serve most needs.
