Last updated: November 1st, 2024 at 22:05 UTC+01:00
After Google merged Nearby Share into Quick Share last year, Quick Share became the AirDrop equivalent for Android and ChromeOS ecosystems. However, file sharing between Android and iPhone users still isn’t straightforward, and that could change soon if Quick Share launches on iOS and macOS.
An important bug fix hints at possible launch of Quick Share for iPhones and Macs
Google constantly improves Quick Share by updating the Nearby Connections API, a peer-to-peer networking technology that works over local networks. The source code for Nearby Connections is available on GitHub, and it is constantly updated by Google’s engineers.
As noted by Android Authority, Google fixed a bug where the non-localized account name is used in conjunction with the device type when returning the name. However, it isn’t necessary as the device name is already localized on iOS and macOS. So, this works well for Quick Share.
A Google engineer called out this bug fix specifically and said it helps Quick Share on iOS and macOS. It possibly means that Google is working on bringing a Quick Share client for iPhones and Macs. However, it could also mean that Google engineers are just fixing bugs and aren’t looking to build Quick Share to other platforms.
The story continues after the video…
In the past, Google brought the Nearby Share client to Windows and then rebranded it to Quick Share once Nearby Share was merged into Samsung’s Quick Share. So, considering that Google has already released Quick Share to one third-party platform, it is likely that it is thinking of bring it to the remaining popular third-party platforms: iOS (and possibly iPadOS) and macOS.
If Quick Share comes to iPhones and Macs, file sharing between Android and iPhone users will become a lot easier, improving productivity for everyone.