Spanner supports creating secondary indexes based on scalar expressions that apply to one or more table columns.

Spanner supports automatic parameterization of SQL query literals to improve query performance, reduce latency, and lower CPU costs.

Spanner converts literal values hardcoded in CRUD-style queries, such as primary key lookups, index lookups, and primary key joins, into query parameters, allowing execution plans to be cached and reused to reduce latency and CPU costs.

Spanner queues are generally available (GA).

Spanner queues provide transactional messaging to help you manage asynchronous work. The feature pairs this capability with the scalability and reliability of Spanner, letting you build event-driven applications. For more information, see the Spanner queues overview.