Google Drive's physical document scanning features have been enhanced this week, and iOS users can finally take advantage of them.
Android users gained the ability to intelligently scan physical documents using their phone or tablet's camera and store them on Google Drive back in May 2013. Earlier this year, the feature was further enhanced using machine learning to allow Drive to recommend title suggestions for the scanned documents.
Jump to today, and Google is adding even more feature enhancements, but also unlocking access for iOS users.
Anyone using the latest version of the Drive scanner on Android will notice document capture is now automatic to "help you get the best scan quickly." The camera viewfinder will also help you position the document for the best capture, and there's a new scanner button to make the process even faster. If you have documents stored in your camera roll, Drive can now import them, too.
For iPhone and iPad users, Google Drive will now offer the same physical document capture, cropping, and organizing options as Android users, along with the title suggestion feature introduced earlier this year.
The iOS feature enhancements started rolling out on Nov. 28, and Google believes all users will have access to them no later than Dec. 1.
Perhaps the rollout of these new features is why it's taking so long for Google to figure out why Drive users are seeing files from the last several months simply disappear?