Apple device owners know that when they purchase a new product from the company, they’ll be able to seamlessly link it to their existing Apple products. Despite the development of features likeNearby Share, Android still doesn’t have quite this level of integration. Now, Google is continuing plans to address its shortcomings with a feature calledLink Your Devices. New details have emerged that suggest Android device sharing may become as easy switching on Bluetooth and logging into your Google account.
AssembleDebug, who keeps tabs on developments in Google Apps, posted a series of updates that give us a glimpse at how Link Your Devices could operate. Earlier this month, we reported thatGoogle was working on a featurethat would allow Android users to easily flip a switch to connect their devices in several new ways. At the time, we only learned of an option to move calls from one device to another and a set of undisclosed internet sharing features. Now, we’re getting a glimpse of those mysterious options.
AnInstant hotspotfeature would allow your linked devices to turn on your phone’s hotspot functionality when they need access to the internet. This could work in tandem with anInternet sharingoption that would allow Chromebooks and other devices signed in to your Google account to share their internet connections. And thanks to anAutomatically share Wi-Fitoggle, devices can connect without having to enter a password each time.
For security purposes, aRandomize name & passwordoption would prevent other devices from seeing the instant hotspot created when your devices connect to each other. Most of these features will require Bluetooth to be turned on and each device to be signed in to your Google account.
Google has been notoriously slow to expand upon cross-device sharing as Apple continues to be lauded for features like AirDrop and Continuity Camera. But the latter was alreadyspotted in development on Android, and Google’s Nearby Share is slowly becoming a true AirDrop competitor. Google recently startedworking on a Nearby Share redesignin the Files app, and acompanion app for Windows is now officially available. Slowly but surely, cross-device continuity is becoming a real thing on Android.
