Files by Google tests new layout for tablets and foldables (APK teardown)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Files by Google is testing a new UI for tablets and other large-screen devices. It splits the file explorer app into a two-column layout, giving you access to more files without switching pages.

An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.

Currently, Files by Google simply stretches the mobile home page UI to fit the larger screens on tablets and foldables. It gives you access to the search bar, Recents carousel, Categories, Collections, and All Storage options and switches to a different page when you select a file or folder.

The new UI, however, moves all the home page elements to a column on the left and shows the selected folder or category on the right. It makes much better use of the larger screen and lets you quickly sift through your files without requiring you to constantly switch back to the home page to access a new folder or category.

Although interacting with the search bar still opens a full-screen search UI, the context menu appears in a much smaller column to the left. The Scan button has also been moved to the bottom right corner of the left column to make room for additional buttons for the right column.

This new UI is available in Files by Google version 1.4831.672243909.0, but it only shows up on devices running Android 15. It is not available on Android 14 devices, suggesting that it may be triggered by a change included in the newer platform release. At the moment, we can’t confirm if Google will extend this new layout to older Android versions. We’ll update this post as soon as we have more details.

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