It is no longer news that Google is working on a file-sharing feature for Android similar to Apple’s AirDrop. The feature which is now called Nearby Share (formerly known as Nearby Sharing) has been in development for a while, and now more details have surfaced.
New info has revealed that Nearby Share will not be limited to sharing between Android devices but also other operating systems with the help of the Chrome browser.
A few months ago, April to be precise, a Chrome commit was discovered with a flag with a description that reads “enables Nearby Sharing functionality”. It was presumed the flag was to activate the feature on other operating systems with a Chrome browser since Android already has the feature baked in.
Another commit lends further credence to the feature being available in the Chrome browser for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
A twitter user by the name Dinsan (@_dinsan) shared an image showing Nearby Share in Chrome OS settings.
Nearby Sharing shows up in #chromebook settings pic.twitter.com/Z2V5UrgPT4
— Dinsan (@_dinsan) June 19, 2020
Not limiting the feature to Android is a smart move by Google and will make it easy for users to share files between devices especially those who use multiple devices running different operating systems e.g. an Android phone, a Chrome tablet, and a Windows PC.
Google is yet to announce when the feature will be official.
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(Source)
