The pains of receiving a video attachment, downloading it to your computer, then finally playing it with a media player, are real. It's a lengthy and inconvenient process especially in an era of cloud-based inclinations. Google, as it appears, believes so, too.
As such, Gmail will no longer require its users to download video attachments just to preview them, at least on the desktop version.
Rolling out now, the new feature will let users stream the attachment thanks to the principle also used behind Google Drive, YouTube, and other products, according to the company.
Gmail Video Attachments No Longer Requires Downloading
Starting Thursday, March 16, Gmail users on desktop can finally do away with video downloads; they may simply check out the contents of a video by virtue of a streaming preview directly integrated inside the email interface, Google announced. Users can adjust playback, set quality and sound levels, and even stream the video attachment to a Chromecast device, although this appears to still be a work in progress, as tested by The Verge.
Why This Is Important
This minor, but handy update to Gmail is important primarily for two reasons, as pointed out by SlashGear. First, it saves storage, time, and effort. Especially for large video files, downloading isn't the most attractive recourse. Let alone if the user's internet isn't too dependable. Second, it lets users decide if a video is actually worth downloading at all, or whether a preview is enough for them to go by.
This primarily benefits those who have small snippets or clips to send to friends coworkers, or relatives, letting them save a step or two.
Of course, Google still won't lift its file size limit — 25 MB maximum for sending, and 50 MB maximum for receiving — but at least video attachments won't be a pain to deal with starting now. But what if you want to send larger videos? No problem at all, as uploading it to Google Drive, the company's own cloud storage platform, comes as an easy recourse.
Video Previews On Other G Suite Applications Likely?
Since Gmail's video attachment preview system uses the same principle responsible for Google Drive and YouTube videos, as previously mentioned, streaming and previews could also be baked into other G Suite applications later on.
The new handy feature follows another recently announced feature on Gmail which lets users send and receive payments by virtue of attachments. It works as easy as it sounds: type up an email, select the "Send money" attachment option, pick an amount, write an optional memo, and hit send. The payments may be sent to non-Gmail users, and may even be directly transferred to the recipient's bank account, which is neat.
Gmail's video preview is rolling out now and is expected to become available to all users in the next 15 days.
Thoughts about gmail's new streaming and preview for video attachments? Will it make your overall productivity workflow easier? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
