Google launches Nearby Share for Windows, makes easier to share images, files and more

Nishita Gupta
Nishita Gupta July 14, 2023
Updated 2023/08/01 at 5:04 PM

Nearby Share is Google’s answer to Apple’s AirDrop and makes it easier to share files between devices. While Android-to-Android sharing was made easier with Nearby Share, Google expanded it to other devices as well. Google introduced the beta version of Nearby Share for Windows earlier this year. Now, Nearby Share is officially available for all Windows users. “Today marks the official launch of Nearby Share with Windows, offering improved performance and new functionality that can make it even easier for you to share content and stay productive,” said Ronald Ho, group product manager, Android, in a blog post.

New features added to Nearby Share

The app was first launched in beta in March 2023 and Ho said Android has continued to improve overall speed and reliability. Updates have helped to reduce crashes and increase the success rate of file transfers, he claimed. Google has now added two new features to Nearby Share. Users will see the estimated time for file transfers to be completed. “This can be helpful when you’re sending large files like videos or entire folders and want to see how quickly it will be shared,” Ho said. Further, there is also now an image preview within device notifications to help you confirm that the correct file is being shared.

Google is also working with partners like HP to include the Nearby Share app on select Windows PCs, such as the HP Dragonfly Pro.

Nearby Share for Windows is available as an app download on PCs. Ho claims that the app has now been installed by more than 1.7 million people. “With photos and videos being the most popular file types to send, we’ve seen over 50 million files transferred between PC and Android devices since launch,” he added.

For more such content, keep reading @techinnews

Share this Article