According to Android Police, Google is rolling out a beta redesign of the document scanner interface within the Google Drive and Files by Google apps, based on the Material 3 “Expressive” design language first seen in a September revamp. The update, initially spotted in version 25.46.32 of Google Play services and reported by 9to5Google, promises to be “a faster, smarter way to scan” with a key new feature: the ability to capture “all pages in view at once” for multi-page documents. The new interface features a redesigned viewfinder, a squiggly progress indicator, and a layout that includes a Workspace Labs logo, indicating it’s an experimental feature. The redesign isn’t widely available yet and appears to be limited to certain regions or a subset of users, even those enrolled in Workspace Labs.
Why this matters now
Look, scanning documents on your phone isn’t exactly a new problem. We’ve had decent solutions for years. But here’s the thing: it’s often still clunky, especially with more than one page. You’re there, tapping the shutter button over and over, trying to keep everything aligned. It’s a small friction point, but it adds up. Google‘s push to streamline this—and bake it directly into Drive and Files, which are already on millions of phones—is a smart move to own that basic utility. It’s not about reinventing the wheel; it’s about making the wheel spin perfectly smoothly, every single time.
The multi-page game-changer
That “capture all pages at once” feature is the real headline, honestly. If it works reliably, it basically turns a tedious, manual process into a single action. Think about scanning a short contract, a stack of receipts, or a few pages from a book. This could cut the time and annoyance in half. It shows Google is thinking about the actual *workflow*, not just the single-scan moment. The rest of the changes—the M3 container, the rearranged buttons—are nice for consistency. But this? This is a tangible benefit that makes you go, “Oh, finally.”
The slow rollout puzzle
Now, the fact that it’s trickling out slowly and tied to Workspace Labs is interesting. It tells us Google is still tinkering. They’re using that program, which is normally for AI experiments, to test a core UI/UX change. That’s a bit unusual. It probably means they’re gathering data on how people use the multi-page scan or testing the stability of the new code. So, if you don’t have it yet, don’t sweat it. These staged rollouts are Google’s standard MO. It’ll likely hit more devices soon, especially if the beta feedback is positive. The real question is, when will this smart scanning tech trickle down to other areas? The camera app itself could sure use it.
