Sharpening your spreadsheets at work and on the go is set to get a lot faster thanks to a major update to Google Sheets.
Google‘s spreadsheet software has unveiled a range of improvements which it says will make the platform “run significantly faster” when making calculations on popular browsers.
Users on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge will benefit from the boosts, which also promise improvements when running formulas, creating pivot tables, using conditional formatting, and more – no matter the size of file being used.
Google Sheets speed
“We’re making it easier and faster to format, calculate, and manage your data in Google Sheets, whether you’re just getting started or are already a Sheets expert,” a Google Workspace blog post outlining the updates stated.
“The latest advancements in Sheets (will) help you be more productive, from everyday tasks to complex projects.”
The improvements are due to Google Sheets now using WebAssembly Garbage Collection (WasmGC), rather than JavaScript, for its code execution. Google describes WasmGC as an extension to the existing WebAssembly specification that can help speed up the running of Google Sheets by reclaiming memory allocated by the program, but is no longer referenced.
The speed improvements are rolling out now to all Google Workspace and personal users on Chrome and Edge – and the company says it is preparing to add support for non-Chromium browsers (namely Safari and Firefox) soon.
It is also working on “exploring new ways to improve the Sheets experience” – namely, working to “reduce initial load time and improve copy/paste and filter performance”.
The announcement is the latest upgrade to Google Sheets as it looks to help users be more productive and efficient using the software.
Most recently, the company revealed it would be adding the Google Gemini AI helper platform to Sheets. A new side panel accessible to users will be able to analyze and take insights from all your files and documents, offering suggestions on how to quickly get started on a new spreadsheet, as well as summarizing any findings from your current work.