Android’s open source nature makes it difficult for phones from different OEMs to play well with each other, unless Google steps in and makes changes to Android or GMS (Google Mobile Services). This is exactly what happened in the case of a nearby share, which makes it easier to share files between different Android devices. While we don’t want to go so far as to say it works just as well with Apple’s AirDrop, Near Share v2.0 gets a bunch of improvements that can help narrow the gap.
First, the upcoming update has a All of, which allows you to share files with everyone around you, not just people from your contacts. This can be useful if you need to share something with someone you do not know very well. To ensure that it does not cause any security issues, there is also a Temporary mode which automatically switches back to Contacts after five minutes.
With this new version, the UI will open a user interface to switch between the visibility options when you tap on the tile of the quick setting Near Share. That’s not all – multi-user sharing is also coming, and it allows you to share the same files on multiple devices, but not simultaneously.
A Google software engineer working on Near Share confirms (via Reddit) that all these features are found by 9to5Google will be part of version 2.0. According to the individual, it may take a while before we see the update work – two more patches are planned before v2.0. And yes, the team can bring the feature to the Chrome desktop as well.
