Google shutters one other Space 120 challenge: Stack PDF scanner

Abstract

• Google axed its experimental doc scanner app Stack, pushing customers to make the most of Google Drive’s comparable capabilities as a substitute.
• Stack’s conveniences, equivalent to auto edge detection and categorization, may be discovered on Google Drive’s doc scanner.
• Google Drive now presents a seamless transition for Stack customers, with a brand new FAB possibility and digicam prompts for doc scanning.

Google is continually innovating and creating new providers to simplify life for Android customers and Workspace subscribers. As a rule, the result’s a bunch of providers with overlapping options, which should finally share cohesive branding or be killed off altogether. A number of such providers have been on the chopping block in 2023, and we’re simply midway by way of 2024, and Google has already pulled the plug on an experimental social media service and the well-known Google One VPN. Now, a doc scanner bites the mud.

One of many advantages of being a multi-billion greenback tech enterprise comes within the type of a wing devoted to incubating experimental initiatives earlier than they’re culled or finally spun off into impartial enterprise entities. Google’s incubator is known as Space 120, and is liable for harboring a number of success tales, like Gmail, Google Information, and Waymo. A neat little doc scanner app referred to as ‘Stack: PDF Scanner’ was one such challenge.

Stack provided a number of conveniences, equivalent to computerized edge detection and doc seize, minimizing your involvement, and handy automated doc categorization too. Nonetheless, 9to5Google stories the challenge has been taken off life assist, and will likely be gone for good on September 23 this yr. The app itemizing on the Play Retailer has disappeared as effectively.

Stack lives on in Google Drive’s doc scanner

The best way to export your paperwork from Stack to Drive

In the event you knew of the Stack app and used it, Google now has assist documentation explaining how one can export all of the scanned paperwork in Stack to Google Drive. In case you used the app earlier however don’t have it anymore or did not obtain the e-mail Google despatched concerning the shutdown, downloading the newest model from APKMirror would possibly nonetheless assist get well your information. Nonetheless, the app’s ending doesn’t imply we lose performance. The Drive doc scanner already incorporates the automated edge detection and scanning capabilities we talked about earlier.

Whereas the comfort of good categorization is misplaced, Google Drive now has a devoted Floating Motion Button (FAB) to launch the scanner UI. Furthermore, the Pixel Digicam app (previously often called Google Digicam) additionally shows on-screen prompts redirecting you to the Drive doc scanner when a doc is detected within the body. The utility even makes use of machine studying to recommend a related file identify.

Whereas Drive is a becoming alternative, it’s nonetheless unlucky to see one other Google app die.