Google Nearby Share will get a massive upgrade in the coming months. The Self-Share feature will let you seamlessly share files to your other connected device with a single tap. It may be as good as the AirDrop on iOS.
What’s different about the Self-Share feature?
Google Nearby Share debuted a couple of years back and was a good option for Android users who craved the AirDrop-like feature. Nearby Share lets you share files with nearby Android devices with ease. Now, the Self-Share feature will soon debut on Android and Chromebooks which will make it even easier to switch files.
Esper’s Mishaal Rahman shared the first look of the Self-Share feature in action. It aims to push permission-based sharing out of the picture. If you are an Android user who would like to share a file with your other device, you could do that with one tap. No permissions need to be given by the other device.
The current Nearby Share needs the other users to accept the incoming file. The extra step is there for security reasons but that isn’t necessary when a user needs to transfer something across his own devices. In such a scenario, removing the file acceptance condition makes it quicker. However, the other device needs to sign in with the same Google account.
Benefits of the new feature
Nearby Share works fine if you ask most users but the additional permission granting step takes the joy out of file sharing across personal devices. In contrast, AirDrop doesn’t have this extra step which makes file sharing a breeze in the Apple ecosystem. Google Nearby Share’s implementation of such a feature will smoothen the file-sharing process.
Android may be trying to build an Apple-like ecosystem but the current experience of Google Nearby Share isn’t super. Some users commented on Mishaal Rahman’s tweet about the slow transfer speed while using the feature. The user further added that the feature worked best on the flagship devices only.
Android enthusiasts are eagerly waiting for this feature to arrive soon. Google hasn’t released any dates for the Self-Share feature, but it could arrive soon when Google I/O commences on 11 May 2022. You can read more about our coverage on the AirDrop feature for Andriod here.
