To use it, you need to activate it by switching the slider to “On”. You should now find an option called “Nearby Share” (not be confused with something called “Nearby”!). Does your Android device have it already?Īnd here’s how to check if you have it: On your Android device, go into “Settings”, then select “Google” and then “Device connections”. As of now, roughly 90% of my own Android devices (and believe me I own quite a few!) have already received Nearby Share. Nearby Share is integrated into the Android system, it’s not a separate app. The feature is distributed automatically via the Google Play Services app (which comes pre-installed on basically all Android devices) so you don’t need to download anything. Nearby Share allows for fast wireless sharing of files to other nearby Android devices, even offline (that is without using an internet connection). Google is finally giving Android proper wireless file sharingĮnter Nearby Share: Recently, Google started rolling out a new Android feature called “Nearby Share” that should soon be available on all Android devices that sport at least Android 6 Marshmallow (Android 6 was released in 2015, we’re now at Android 11). While the app ventured somewhat close towards becoming a system resource in that it came pre-installed on many new phones as part of Google’s app portfolio, it was hard to deny that Apple’s AirDrop was more easily accessible. As for Android-to-Android device wireless file transfers, Google introduced an app called “Files Go” (today Files by Google) in late 2017 which was primarily a file explorer but also had the ability to share files offline to another device by creating a WiFi Direct connection. So for quite a while I resorted to third party apps like Feem and Send Anywhere that also worked cross-platform between mobile and desktop – Android, iOS, macOS and Windows. Android on the other hand had something called “WiFi Direct” relatively early in its career but it never got picked up consistently by phone makers which preferred to introduce their own proprietary file transfer solutions which of course only worked with phones/devices of the same brand. Shooting on an iPhone and then transferring the footage to an iPad for editing with a bigger screen is a pretty popular workflow. This is extremely helpful when transferring video files which as we all know can get pretty heavy these days, particularly if one records in UHD/4K. If you’re happy to install unofficial software from GitHub, here’s how to use Nearby Share on your Mac to wirelessly receive content from an Android smartphone.One of the things I really like about Apple’s ecosystem is the cross-platform integration of a functionality called “AirDrop” which lets you fast, wirelessly and offline transfer (big) files between Apple devices that are close to each other, be it Mac, iPhone or iPad. While the lack of an official seal of approval may put some off, it’s something we use very often and have had no issues with it until this point. The catch? It’s not official tech created by Apple or Google, instead being the creation of one particularly talented developer by the name of Grishka who has since shared the home-brewed app on GitHub. While you might assume that you’re locked to the realm of Google Drive or good old-fashioned emails to share files between the two devices, there is a way to use Nearby Share on a Mac to receive files. The question is, what if you’re a Mac and Android user? Admittedly the use case is a little niche – MacBook owners tend to have an iPhone as the two work well together – but it does happen. It’s very handy tech that lets you quickly share photos, videos or any other files between devices using a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, with security features in place to make sure you’re not spammed with random Nearby Share requests or likewise sent any malicious content that could hack or otherwise interfere with your smartphone. Nearby Share is Android’s equivalent of Apple’s AirDrop functionality, essentially letting you quickly and easily share content wirelessly between devices without having to rely on a physical connection or uploading content beforehand. AirDrop is a handy tool if you’ve got an iPhone and a Mac, but what if you’re one of the few Mac users with an Android? Here’s how you can use Android Nearby Share on Mac to receive files wirelessly.
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