Google and Samsung have teamed as much as make sharing recordsdata between Android units quite a bit simpler and quicker, by bringing the latter’s Fast Share utility into all of Android. 

As its title would recommend, Samsung’s Fast Share perform permits the quick sharing of issues like photos, recordsdata and textual content between two suitable Samsung units, for instance a Galaxy S23 and Galaxy Tab S9. The characteristic is just like Apple AirDrop.

Google has an analogous software known as Close by Share, which additionally facilitates the simple sharing of recordsdata throughout close by units. 

Then at CES 2024, Google introduced that it’s been collaborating with Samsung to not solely carry Fast Share to extra Android customers, but additionally combine Close by Share with the software. 

“We have built-in the experiences and created one of the best default, built-in choice for peer-to-peer content material sharing throughout all kinds of units within the Android and Chromebook ecosystems,’ defined Sameer Samat, basic supervisor and vp at Google’s Android Ecosystem arm. 

“This implies with a easy faucet of the brand new Fast Share icon, you may see a listing of accessible units shut by. You stay in charge of your privateness, and might select in your telephone’s settings who can uncover your system and ship recordsdata, whether or not it’s everybody, solely your contacts or simply your personal units. Fast Share will begin rolling out to present Close by Share enabled units subsequent month.” 

What would possibly look like a reasonably fundamental little bit of integration is definitely a little bit of a boon from my perspective. Whereas I do like utilizing among the greatest Samsung telephones, the glut of additional apps the corporate places on its units too typically double up on those that Android comes with as commonplace, which may make for a irritating expertise, with two choices being served as much as do basically the identical factor. 

Samsung has acquired higher at letting customers disguise away these further apps and select what to put in when organising a brand new Galaxy telephone, however extra integration will assist make for a seamless and higher general expertise. 

Moreover, Samat stated that Google will look to carry Fast Share to Home windows machines: “To make sharing much more seamless between units, we’re working with main PC producers like LG to develop Fast Share to Home windows PCs as a pre-installed app.” 

Google and CES 2024 

Google had just a few extra bulletins to make at CES, notably increasing the Quick Pair utility in Android to bigger screens. As such, the Bluetooth-centric pairing software will work with Chromecast and Google TV units beginning in February, with extra Google TV units to come back because the yr progresses. 

Subsequent up is the power to make use of Chromecast casting options in additional apps and units, as we have defined in our roundup of the Chromecast’s new options. As Samat notes: “You can too sit up for extra units launching with Chromecast built-in, such because the 2024 LG TV sequence. And later this yr, we’ll lengthen Chromecast built-in to LG Hospitality and Healthcare in order that once you’re on the go, you may proceed to get pleasure from a present or film out of your streaming apps on the LG TV in your resort room, with out having to log into every app and having to recollect to log off once you’re finished.” 

Such casting can even come to Spotify and YouTube Music, letting you progress what’s taking part in from a linked Pixel telephone to the likes of a Pixel Pill with no need to cease or disrupt the stream of music. 

Talking of sensible house units taking part in collectively properly, Google is increasing its interoperability between its personal units and the Google House platform with the Matter sensible house commonplace. This could imply that units working the Android TV and Google TV platforms can act as a Google House hub, letting a collection of sensible units be managed from a big display screen. And naturally, this’ll imply extra Matter-enabled sensible house units might be managed by way of the likes of the Google Nest Hub. 

Lastly, Android Auto is getting an improve to carry extra Google apps and providers into automobiles that help it. One such service is the power to drag real-time battery data from an electrical automobile and provide an estimated battery degree upon arrival at a particular vacation spot in Google Maps, whereas flagging charging stops on the way in which. 

Briefly, CES for Google has been extra concerning the integration of apps and providers, with the search large seemingly taking a backseat whereas headline-grabbing {hardware} will get revealed, like Kohler’s new sensible bathe know-how that just about result in us indecently exposing ourselves at CES.   

We’re protecting all the newest CES information from the present because it occurs. Persist with us for the massive tales on every little thing from 8K TVs and foldable shows to new telephones, laptops, sensible house devices, and the most recent in AI.

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