Android could soon get its own version of AirDrop
When it comes to sharing files between mobile devices, there are a myriad of ways that one can go about doing so. For example, you could send files over email, messaging apps, sharing cloud-based folders and links, and so on. While those are pretty decent ways, sharing files directly between device to device is preferred.
At the moment, Android has “Android Beam” which uses NFC to communicate between devices, but as that feature is expected to be deprecated with Android Q, it seems that Google is working on an alternative, which 9to5Google has unearthed and found that the new sharing protocol will be known as “Fast Share”.
Based on their findings, it appears the Fast Share could end up being similar to Apple’s own AirDrop protocol that would use a combination of both Bluetooth and WiFi. This would allow Android users to locate other Android users nearby, after which they can then connect to each other to send files or even text snippets.
What makes Fast Share potentially better than AirDrop is the fact that it will work with iOS devices. Screenshots taken by 9to5Google have shown that Fast Share can discover iPhones that have the feature, although presumably it will require the iPhone user to own a special Google app for it to work. No word on when the feature will be released, but presumably it could be part of the Android Q update.
Source: 9to5Google