Remember Android Beam? This was their nearby sharing feature that either barely worked or no one used. Apple came out w/ AirDrop and showed Google how it was supposed to be done.
Looks like Google has finally come up w/ a better solution for it all to actually be a AirDrop competitor w/ their new Fast Share feature. The folks over at 9to5Google actually got it to work on one of their Pixel 3XL and took some screenshots of it all. FastShare seems to utilize a more efficient Android Beam & Nearby to be able to share files to other Android devices, Chromebooks, smartwatches, and iPhones.
In order to use it, you need to be within a close vicinity to other device and then select Fast Share feature to select the device and file you want to share. The nearby device needs to accept the file and you’ll see a status bar in your notifications showing how much has been sent over.
The new feature isn’t an Android Q thing but a part of Google Play Services. You can check your device by going to Settings > Google > look for Fast Share. I didn’t have it on my devices but you may have it on yours.
What do you think of Google’s take on AirDrop? And is this something you would be interested in?
