Google"s AirDrop competitor, Nearby Share, has been rolling out in limited beta to users running the beta version of Google Play Services. The feature also began showing up for Chrome OS users in beta form. Now, it looks like the search giant is expanding the rollout to more devices, as users running Google Play Services beta are reporting that the feature is now live for them.
The change was mostly enabled via a server-side switch and seems to be rolling out to many users. We can confirm that Nearby Share is now available on our device as well. Users can head to the notification shade and check to see if the icon is present. The feature serves a prompt asking if users would want to turn on the feature. Once enabled, it lets users search for nearby devices to connect to and share selected content with. It also offers a host of visibility options to limit being visible to all users.
Nearby Share just rolled out to most of my devices! It"s great to have. pic.twitter.com/FezoexARYj
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) July 30, 2020
Nearby Share should also be present in the share sheet once it is enabled. The addition of this capability is a welcome one, especially since the deprecation of Android Beam. Google is reportedly planning to roll out the file-sharing feature to all devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or newer.
The rollout is said to be slated for an August release. Seeing that most beta users are being served the feature, it will not be surprising to see the Mountain View company roll out the feature for all users next month. The company is also reportedly planning to support Windows and macOS devices.