Another feature that could be on the horizon is the “Add to collection” option. This would let users pin any folder to the “Collection” tab on the app’s home page. Currently, this tab only houses a safe folder and a folder for starred files. The new feature would provide greater flexibility in organizing and accessing important folders. However, it appears that this feature will be limited to folders, as individual files cannot be pinned to the Collection tab.
In addition to these new features, the beta version also reveals that Google has switched the positions of the “Collection” and “Categories” tabs, placing the Collections tab above Categories. This small change could be a sign of Google’s emphasis on the upcoming collection feature and its potential importance to users.
Files by Google app’s new “Compress” and “Pin to collections” options, old layout versus new layout | Images credit — Android Authority
It is important to note that these features are not yet functional in the beta version of the app, but rather enabled by tinkering with the underlying code. However, as Files by Google is already a popular choice for many Android users due to its simplicity and ease of use, it would be to everyone’s benefit that they do make it to the stable build.
If these new features are successfully implemented, the app could become even more versatile and powerful, potentially rivaling some of the top file explorer apps on the market. It will be interesting to see how these features evolve and what impact they have on the app’s overall functionality and user experience.