See Google’s answer to AirDrop in this video

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Google calls its file transfer feature Nearby Sharing

(Image credit: XDA Developers)

It seems 2020 is the year Android finally catches up to one of the best features in iOS — AirDrop. We've already seen evidence this week that Samsung is planning a similar feature for its upcoming Galaxy S20 phones, and today (Jan. 24) we've got a preview of Google's AirDrop alternative, called Nearby Sharing, running on a pair of Pixel devices, courtesy of XDA Developers.

In the video, we're taken on a quick tour of Nearby Sharing by XDA's Mishaal Rahman. Using a Pixel 2 XL and Pixel 4 with a pre-release version of the software, he's able to move a handful of photos and a video file from one device to the other.

Much like AirDrop, Nearby Sharing users have the ability to set who they want to receive files from — anyone, or only individuals within their contacts. You'll also have the ability to turn the feature on and off via a quick toggle in the notification shade, which is a very handy addition. You can then choose whether you'd like to use data to share, or simply exchange files over Wi-Fi only (the latter of which will be much faster).

A pair of devices will only be able to use Nearby Sharing if they're at most 1 foot apart from each other, which might help you avoid getting random unwanted media sent to you while riding the subway. (No promises, though.)

Photos and videos transferred via Nearby Sharing land in a specially named folder inside an Android's phones DCIM directory, where photos are traditionally stored. Theoretically, Nearby Sharing should be available to all Android devices running the latest version of Google Play Services (Rahman cites another user who was able to get the feature running on a OnePlus 7T, for what it's worth), but we're still in the dark regarding when Google intends to roll it out to everyone.

Adam Ismail

Adam Ismail is a staff writer at Jalopnik and previously worked on Tom's Guide covering smartphones, car tech and gaming. His love for all things mobile began with the original Motorola Droid; since then he’s owned a variety of Android and iOS-powered handsets, refusing to stay loyal to one platform. His work has also appeared on Digital Trends and GTPlanet. When he’s not fiddling with the latest devices, he’s at an indie pop show, recording a podcast or playing Sega Dreamcast.