Microsoft OneDrive for Android receives homescreen overhaul, 8K video playback support

Damien Wilde | Feb 3 2021 - 2:20 am PT

Microsoft OneDrive for Android is now receiving a bit of an overhaul while simultaneously adding support for Samsung Motion Photos and 8K video playback.

This Microsoft OneDrive update was confirmed as rolling out in an official update blog post. This is likely the biggest update the Google Drive rival has seen in some time, with some of the look and feel influenced by many of the similar cloud lockers on the market.

Much of this overhaul will be seen in the main homescreen portion. So long as you have updated OneDrive to v6.21, Microsoft says that you’ll now be greeted with three sections including “recently accessed files, files downloaded for offline use, and ‘On This Day’ photos” — which you can see in action below:

The other core additions added to Microsoft OneDrive on Android include support for Samsung’s Motion Photos and 8K video playback. With Microsoft partnering with Samsung more closely year-over-year, it’s a nice addition for those rocking Samsung devices. This feature is only available on Microsoft OneDrive

When you share a Samsung Motion Photo in OneDrive, your recipient will be able to play back the Motion Photo if they are viewing it on the OneDrive for Android or on OneDrive.com. Recipients who view the Motion Photo from OneDrive for iOS or OneDrive sync will see a still photo.

Microsoft notes that 8K video storage support has always been available on OneDrive, but video playback is only now available on selected Android devices. Those with the Samsung Galaxy S20 or newly released S21 series will have the option to view full-resolution 8K video from their smartphone. However, the platform only supports video files up to 250GB in size, which is likely more than enough given device storage limitations.

This update has already arrived on the iOS version of Microsoft OneDrive – to access all of the new features, you will need to be running v6.23 or higher on your Android smartphone, which is rolling out right now via the Google Play Store.