It’s September 8, 2022, artificial intelligences are developing at a fascinating rate, technology has already become an essential element of our lives, a human being finally has plans to return to the moon (and eventually Mars). managed to teleport photons, a space telescope takes us millions of years into the past, and cars practically drive themselves. It seems we are in the future… but when we want to share a file between two devices, we have to send it by mail in the end. Something is wrong, isn’t it?

In this regard, it is indisputable that Apple is way ahead of the competition thanks to AirDrop. It is true that in its first version, the AirDrop implementation for macOS (then MacOS X) was incompatible with the iOS implementation, so this protocol could only be used for direct transfers between devices of the same type, not between PCs. and iPhone for example. However, since 2014, with the arrival of Mac OS Yosemite, the long-awaited unification has taken place, and since then it is now possible to transfer files directly between Apple devices, regardless of their type.

As an Apple user, I’ve always been fascinated by that Google was not moving in the same direction and in response enable a similar system for the Android + ChromeOS ecosystem. It would be even more awesome if Windows was also included in the equation (something you could do via Google Chrome), but I understand that this could be a second step after the “in-house” solution is already available for all operating systems in the ecosystem Google.

And the good news is that finally, as Google announced on its blog The Keyword, Android and ChromeOS will have Nearby Sharing, a protocol that will provide AirDrop-like functionality to this ecosystem. for Apple.

«Near Share lets you easily and securely share files between nearby Android phones, tablets and Chromebooks, whether it’s photos or videos or even entire folders. In the coming weeks, you’ll be able to easily transfer files between your own devices with Near Share. Simply select from the sharing menu Android devices that are signed in to your Google account and quickly share files with each other. And once you sign in, transfers between devices you own are automatically accepted, even when the screen is off.»

So it seems Android users and Chromebooks they will have to wait a few weeks before they start sharing files in a direct, fast and, above all, very convenient way. And wouldn’t a standardized protocol, compatible with all major PC operating systems and devices, be ideal? It would, of course, but today it seems less likely than a bridge connecting Valencia to Mallorca.