Google Drive has been a second-class citizen on the desktop for far too long -- requiring a browser, sync client and file manager to use all its glory.
We’re changing that.
Like apps for email, photos and music, Google Drive deserves a dedicated spot on your desktop. Built on top of the reliable syncing engine you’ve come to love, we decided to play matchmaker to give birth to a better Insync.
If Google Drive and Spotify had a baby, it’d be Insync 1.5
We took inspiration from Spotify because we wanted our users to have a similar app experience for Google Drive.
Insync 1.5 is the beginning of that journey (and we have a long way to go).
We want you to be able to work with Google Drive like you would with any important data on your desktop -- context-rich and intuitive to use.
📌 Desktop app with bigger + movable windows
Now you can hide, minimize and move Insync around like you would any program, allowing you to work with Insync uninterrupted.
We turned Insync into a desktop app so it's only fitting we make sure it acts and is sized like one.
📌 Shortcuts
Shortcuts is our take on updating the hover menu. We took the most used Google Drive file controls and turned them into one-click icons.
We also improved the good ol’ context menu for those that prefer right-clicking.
📌 Dual mode
With the updated interface, Insync now has the flexibility to work both in the foreground and in the background.
Prefer to keep Insync in the background? Closing the app keeps it running on your systray or menu bar.
📌 Sidebar
Smoothly browse through My Drive, Shared with me, Team Drive and your Settings with the improved sidebar. The design is kept consistent throughout the app for better navigation.
📌 Updated Onboarding
We revamped our in-app onboarding to ease new (and old) users into Insync.
We want everyone to maximize their productivity, workflows and data with Insync. That means making sure you understand what we can do for you right off the bat.
📌 Syncing reliability and performance
In addition to the UI changes, we also fixed syncing issues and improved our auto-update reliability, added touchscreen support and enabled high-DPI on Windows and Linux (Mac already has Retina).
These things might not be as noticeable as our UI changes, but it makes a lot of difference when you use our app.
✋ Some things will never change
Despite the big UI changes, support for our core jobs will never change.
- No OS will be left behind. Our team will continue to build Insync across all 3 operating systems. With us, Linux is a first class citizen 🐧
- Continued support for cross platform syncing, multiple Google Drive account access and our unique features (like ignore list, symlink support and command line interface).
- Our syncing superpowers will always be there to help you maximize and tailor-fit your syncing to your workflow.
🔎 What's after 1.5?
As mentioned in our previous post, we are working on improving the quality of our app and company in the next couple of months.
Our short term goals include finally releasing features you have been asking for like one-way sync, search, bandwidth control and others (Yes, we are listening!).
Our long term vision is to be the universal interface for all your data...Google Drive and desktop access are just the beginning.
Enjoy Insync 1.5 ❤️
