Apple has AirDrop. Android now has Quick Share.
At CES 2024, Google announced Quick Share, a collaboration with Samsung for a unified method of sharing for Android and Chromebook devices. Samsung showed off Quick Share this week at Galaxy Unpacked 2024, giving users a closer look as to how the new sharing feature works. The new Quick Share will come default on the Samsung Galaxy S24, also announced at this week’s event.
For several years now, Samsung and Android have used their own features for sharing, which work across devices, but not perfectly.
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The new Quick Share looks to bridge the existing divide and bring all the best sharing features from both the Google and Samsung services to more Android users.
For more on the news from Galaxy Unpacked 2024, see how the Galaxy S24 Ultra matches up with the iPhone 15 Pro Max or learn more about Galaxy AI.
Google and Samsung announce a new way to share files
To be clear, Quick Share isn’t new. Samsung has had Quick Share since 2020, and Android has had its unique sharing feature, Nearby Share, since about that same time, but the two companies are now collaborating on a singular cross-Android sharing method under the Quick Share name.
Although the two existing file transfer protocols are similar, there are several major differences between Quick Share and Nearby Share. Samsung created Quick Share for Samsung devices only; the sharing feature doesn’t work with other non-Samsung Android devices (without some workarounds). On the other hand, Google’s Nearby Share is available for all Android devices, including Samsung, but some features available in Quick Share are missing from Nearby Share, like sending files to multiple devices at once.
The new Quick Share will make it easy to share photos, videos, documents and other files between Samsung and Google devices.
Luckily, if you’re an Android user, you no longer have to worry about choosing between the two because they’ll soon be under the same umbrella.
With the new Quick Share icon on your device, you’ll see a list of all available devices nearby where you can share photos, videos and files. If you’re worried about privacy issues, you can configure who can discover your device and send you files: choose between everyone, only your contacts or just your own devices.
Quick Share is rolling out to all devices that currently have Nearby Share in February. Google also announced that it’s working with LG to bring Quick Share to Windows as a preinstalled app.
Google also announced Chromecast updates at CES
Google Chromecast, which lets you stream video and audio from across your Android, Google and Apple devices, is getting a few updates, Google announced at CES 2024.
For starters, you’ll soon be able to use Fast Pair to quickly connect Bluetooth devices to the Chromecast with Google TV streaming dongle and compatible Google smart TVs.
All you need to do is put your accessory in pairing mode and you can then quickly connect to your TV.
You can now also cast TikTok content from your phone to any Chromecast built-in device, allowing you to scroll through your feed or watch Live videos from TikTok on your compatible smart TV.
Chromecast is also coming to more devices as a built-in feature, including the 2024 LG TV series, and LG Hospitality and Healthcare so that you can easily stream TV shows and movies to compatible LG TVs in your hotel room without having to log in and out of any third-party streaming apps.
If you’re big on music and podcasts, you’ll soon be able to cast whatever you’re playing on Spotify or YouTube Music from your compatible Pixel phone to your docked Pixel Tablet.
If you want to check out more about what Samsung announced during this year’s CES event, check out Samsung’s projector that makes your room a touchscreen.
