You probably remember Android Beam, right? This was Android’s early tap-to-share feature that used NFC to beam photos or files to a nearby device through a tap. We haven’t written about it since 2014 because Google decided to kill it off.
They’ve since replaced or expanded that sharing functionality with Quick Share, which can be used via device-to-device connections that don’t require a tap. Quick Share is king still and has even brought in AirDrop support on select devices.
The thing is, tapping devices together is apparently still a thing the industry has decided needs to be around. And look, it probably is somewhat quicker and more convenient at times to just tap two devices together rather than walk through a share menu experience.
The crew at 9to5Google have uncovered an upcoming “Tap to Share” feature that is on the way and looks pretty well baked for launch.
They’ve shared the image above that showcases the pop-up you would see on a Samsung device when activated or when welcomed to the service, as they’ve apparently found this upcoming feature through an app made for Samsung phones. I think it’s pretty safe to assume this would land on other Android devices too, like Google’s Pixel line.
The system takes you through “How tap to share works” and then lists the following steps to work it:
Instantly share contact info, photos, videos, links, location, and more
- Unlock your phone.
- Overlap the top of both phones with their screens facing up. You should be able to see both screens.
- Keep phones together until they glow.
Not working? Try holding both phones back to back.
There are likely to be other settings within the system Settings menu that you can control, similar to what we’ve seen in the ever-expanding Quick Share area. For now, none of this actually works and was only enabled in a way that allowed us to view images like the one above. We still have no idea if or when Google could push this to devices.
You needing to tap to share? I might want to.
// 9to5Google
