Airdrop is one of the most loved features of people living in the Apple ecosystem. Well, Google may soon release its competitor which is Near Share for people using Android smartphones.
Well, a similar feature that goes by the name of Self Share has been around for quite some months now. It is available for Chrome OS devices and it helps users to share files between their own devices.
Please note that Self Share is still in the testing phase and has not yet been rolled out.
The unreleased Near Share feature allows users to transfer files between devices signed in to the same Google account.
This transfer does not require approval to begin and will be seamless. The Device Visibility option in Nearby Sharing gets a new Your devices section for this.
Obviously, the feature is almost similar to Airdrop. The feature was discovered by Esper’s Sr. Technical Editor Mishaal Rahman.
Near Share’s “self-share” mode allows you to quickly share files with other devices signed in to the same Google account without having to approve the share.
This hasn’t been rolled out yet from what I can tell, but it’s present in the latest version of Google Play Services. pic.twitter.com/wdtxoiE2oz
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) Apr 19, 2022
File sharing with Near Share currently requires approval, even if you own both devices.
In addition to files and photos, you can also use Close Share to share apps installed on your smartphone with other Android devices.
This feature is currently available in the latest version of Google Play Services. As a result, we can expect it to launch during Google I/O 2022.