Android’s local wireless sharing feature, Nearby Share, is out to the public, and select phones can swap files and photos AirDrop-style right now.
Google’s AirDrop-style quick file sharing feature, Nearby Share, has been released to the public after a short beta phase – but reportedly only on select Google Pixel and Samsung phones at first. Nearby Share was released in beta at the beginning of July as a way to easily share files to other Android phones using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The feature is available to phones running Android 6 and above, though it will soon come to other platforms, Android product manager Daniel Marcos said in a walkthrough video: The feature is pretty simple: when choosing to share a file or photo, tap the new ‘nearby’ option and anyone’s compatible device will appear – as soon as they accept, the media is sent, much like AirDrop.
