Microsoft will update its OneDrive app for Android this week with a new home screen, support for Samsung Motion Photos, and the ability to play 8K videos. The new home screen provides quick access to recent files, offline files, and OneDrive’s “On This Day” feature that reminds you of your old photos.
Support for Samsung Motion Photos is also included in this update, allowing Samsung phone owners to play photos captured with motion in the OneDrive app or online. These photos act like Apple’s Live Photos and capture a still image in addition to a few seconds of video and sound before capturing. Microsoft says Samsung Motion Photos playback is rolling out globally and requires Android version 6 or higher.
The latest addition is 8K video playback for compatible Samsung phones like the new Galaxy S21 or last year’s S20. While you’ve always been able to store 8K videos on OneDrive, the service now supports playback on compatible screens and devices. This could be more tempting to store 8K video in Microsoft’s cloud storage service, especially when OneDrive now supports files up to 250 GB.
This latest Android update for OneDrive focuses a lot on Samsung’s phones and is an example of the ongoing collaboration between Microsoft Samsung. Both companies are working on different ways to integrate Microsoft’s software and services into Samsung Android phones, and there is even a partnership for cloud gaming via xCloud.