In its official blog, Google posted a bunch of CES 2022 announcements focused on improving communications between Android, Chromebook, and Windows devices. Following the recent announcements of Play Games coming soon to Windows 10 and 11, Google revealed its plans to introduce Nearby Share for Windows PCs.
Nearby Share is a technology that allows you to share information and files between Android devices. In a nutshell, it is a clone of Apple's Airdrop.
Windows 10 and 11 also have a similar feature called "Nearby Sharing," but it works only between Windows devices (you can learn how to share files wirelessly in Windows 10 here). That makes it harder to transfer files from an Android smartphone to Windows PC and vice versa.
Nearby Share for Windows PCs
Google wants to fix the problem by making Windows PCs compatible with Android's Nearby Share. The feature also works in Chromebook. The integration will allow users to quickly connect Android and Windows devices using Fast Pair, sync text messages, and transfer files over Wi-Fi.
Unfortunately, there is not that much information about Nearby Share for Windows. For now, Google says it is working with Acer, HP, and Intel to bring Nearby Share "to select Windows PCs first later this year". The company does not comment on whether the feature will be available for existing hardware.
It is good to see Google's determination to support Microsoft in bringing Windows PCs closer to Android smartphones. After failing to disrupt the market with a third mobile operating system, Microsoft is now focusing on making Windows 11 more Android-friendly.
You can read more about the new experiences Google plans to start rolling out throughout this year in a post on the official blog.
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