Android is getting its own proximity-based file-transfer feature similar to Apple's NameDrop — here's what we know about Tap to Share

Sharing between phones has gotten so much easier over the last few years, especially thanks to features like Google's QuickShare and Apple AirDrop. You can even share files between iPhones and certain Android phones thanks to a new amalgamation of both services.

iPhone's NameDrop gives it the edge, as it enables simplified proximity-based sharing, letting you connect two iPhones to initiate a transfer. But it looks like Google might be catching up and bringing something similar to Android devices.

Android Authority uncovered evidence of a "Tap to Share" feature in Android code last month, and recently managed to get the interface working, revealing how this new sharing feature will funtion on Android.

Judging from the interface, Tap to share will work much the same way as NameDrop. Proximity between devices means users can instantly share contact information, photos, videos, location data, links and "more." It's not entirely clear what "more" means, but I'm going to assume you'll be able to share all the same things as Android QuickShare.

The screen also features instructions on how to initiate the transfer, noting that you need to overlap both phones face up and "keep both phones together until they glow." The overlap is interesting, since iPhones are able to initiate NameDrop by bumping their top edges together.

I'd guess this is a way to account for all the different kinds of Android phones that are on sale. No two devices are the same; iPhones are pretty uniform, which means there's no preset location for the NFC chip. So the process of initiating a transfer would inevitably require a little more effort.

It isn't clear whether Android's Tap to Share will be compatible with iPhones and AirDrop. I guess it won't be, especially since the new AirDrop-compatible version of QuickShare is only available on a select few devices right now.

But that's not to say Google and Apple couldn't figure out a solution to ensure cross-compatibility with proximity-based file transfers. Stranger things have happened before.

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