Android’s ‘Nearby Share’ File-Sharing Feature Is Finally Launching

  • AUTHOR: anam
  • POSTED ON: August 6, 2020

So, it took 9 years for Google to level up with Apple’s Airdrop!

Image credit: idownloadblog

In the epic Android Vs iOS battle, when the iOS users always manage to get an additional point for having an AirDrop feature (even though, we have Bluetooth for over a decade), now Google has levelled up the game by launching its own version of Apple’s AirDrop called “Nearby Share’. Yes, it took Google nine years to catch up with such a feature.

Google is rolling out the latest Android feature that allows users to share files directly between any devices running Android 6 and up. This feature is already accessible on certain Samsung and Pixel phones, but Google is planning to make this feature accessible on additional devices in a matter of a few weeks.

Nearby share functions ditto like Apple’s AirDrop: users can simply click on the Nearby Share option and wait for the closeby device to show up on the screen. Then transfer whatever they want to share directly between their intended devices.

Just like AirDrop, android users can also set their preferred visibility while using Nearby Share to various levels of contacts: all, few, or remain hidden. Google claims that this feature will also enable users to exchange files anonymously (Congrats for now being able to AirTroll, android users!)

The feature also transfers files directly through whatever method you consider the fastest for the intended purpose: “Bluetooth, WebRTC, Bluetooth Low Energy or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi,” that Google claims that it also functions offline.

Apple first introduced AirDrop in 2011 on the iPhone and Mac devices, exactly nine years ago. After that, Android tried to experiment with various transfer methods to catch up with convenient file sharing ideas, but nothing turned out to be as accessible and straightforward like Apple’s AirDrop. Moreover, none of those file transfer methods was entirely adopted by all Android manufacturers around the globe.

Android users are now hoping that this feature would be made widely available in all the devices around the globe. Otherwise, android users will be left to rely on email and cloud methods for data transfer, which is more like a headache than a convenience.

Google announces that the feature can be easily downloaded to any Android device via Google Play Services instead of running a full OS update.

Nearby Share’s icon looks like a couple of looped threads or a DNA strain (Not sure about that one! But let’s go with threads instead). As soon as the feature will be available to your smartphone, you can switch on and off its availability from your quick settings.

Updated August 6, 2020
Back To Top