Microsoft is updating 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 the “On This Day” feature of OneDrive that reminds you of your old photos.
Samsung Motion Photos support is also included in this update, which enables owners of Samsung phones to play motion-captured photos in the OneDrive app or online. These photos work like Apple’s Live Photos and create a still image along with a few seconds of video and audio before recording. Microsoft says that the Samsung Motion Photos version is launching worldwide 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. Although you have always been able to store 8K videos on OneDrive, the service now supports playback on compatible screens and devices. It may require more storage of 8K videos on Microsoft’s cloud storage service, especially when OneDrive supports up to 250 GB of files.
This latest Android update for OneDrive focuses a lot on Samsung’s phones and is an example of the ongoing partnership between Microsoft and Samsung. Both companies are working on different ways to integrate Microsoft’s software and services into Samsung Android phones, and there’s even a cloud games partnership through xCloud.