Nearby Share, which you can download on Windows for free, allows you to quickly share files from your Android phone to your PC and vice versa.

Google has rolled out the Nearby Share app for Windows, which has been in beta since March. The new tool lets you easily send and receive files – photos, videos, music documents and more – between nearby Android devices and Windows computers.

During the Nearby Share beta program, 1.7 million people downloaded the application, sending over 50 million files between their Android and Windows devices, according to Google.

Nearby Share isn’t close to being the first file-sharing feature between Android and Windows. It’s not even the only file transfer tool that Google currently has – you can transfer files via Google accounts, such as Drive and Photos, or even via USB.

However, it’s easy to use. Nearby Share doesn’t involve cables, and it doesn’t require uploading files to any existing accounts. Instead, much like Apple’s AirDrop feature, you can quickly send a file from your Android phone to your Windows computer, as long as the two devices are nearby and connected. It’s simply less complicated to use than other existing file transfer methods.

    • BackStabbath@lemm.eeEnglish
      7·
      11 months ago

      Nearby share’s convenience is that it’s available on all Android phones by default. It’s not that fast, but it is convenient.

      • SaveComengs@lemmy.federa.netEnglish
        2·
        11 months ago

        is it available on windows by default though?

        Also most android devices take a while, I don’t even think most devices are running android 13 so it’ll take a while for that to be the case

        • BackStabbath@lemm.eeEnglish
          2·
          11 months ago

          13? Isn’t nearby share available for almost all Android devices that are running Android 6 and beyond? And no, it’s not available on windows by default, but being default on one device is better than being default on none.

          • SaveComengs@lemmy.federa.netEnglish
            1·
            11 months ago

            kde connect is default on kde :)

            btw, I thought nearby share was a new feature in android, ig it’s just the windows integration that’s coming in now

            • BackStabbath@lemm.eeEnglish
              1·
              11 months ago

              Yes, it’s been there for a while and is widely available now. I want it to improve because it’s the closest thing the Android ecosystem has to Airdrop but it’s not close in terms of speeds.