Initially, the launch of Nearby Sharing technology was talked about over a year ago. Everyone thought that Google would launch it right before the release Android 10. But, as it turned out, then Google began to just slowly test the innovation and introduce single mentions of it into the program code Android without, however , the slightest functional component. For this reason, it was impossible to start the transfer of data via Nearby Sharing for quite a long time, and only this summer Google gave birth to a release, which, however, I personally did not like to taste.
Nearby Sharing is a completely useless thing for me
For those who do not understand what Nearby Sharing is, I will explain. Nearby Sharing is a wireless data transfer technology for Android. It is a complete (or almost complete) analogue of AirDrop from Apple and works exactly the same principle, using Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth as a basis. Thanks to them, the devices establish a connection with each other and form a dedicated communication channel through which the selected files are transferred. A distinctive feature of the technology is its high bandwidth, thanks to which photos are transferred instantly, and videos weighing up to 1 GB – in less than a minute.
How to transfer files to Android
I transfer all files and links via Telegram and cloud storage
Despite the clear advantage in the form of high data transfer speed, I have never used Nearby Sharing, except when I wrote an instruction on how this technology works. The fact is that for me – and for many of my acquaintances with whom I discussed this issue – the issue of data exchange between smartphones tete-a-tete is irrelevant. Well, see for yourself:
- I do not download music to my smartphone, but if I need to share it, I send a link from the streaming service that I use;
- If I need to send photos, I send a link to one or more photos in 'Google Photos', where I keep my library;
- If I need to share a document in Google Docs or upload an APK file to someone, I'll use the direct file transfer via messenger.
Where is the best place to store files at Android
Nearby Sharing file transfer is unnecessary and inconvenient
As a data exchange tool, I use Telegram, which not only allows you to transfer files weighing up to 1 GB, although such a need has never arisen (it is easier to send a link to the cloud storage), it will also store them in the chat as much as you need .
After all, if a video file transmitted via Nearby Sharing is saved on your opponent's device, then a video file transmitted via Telegram will be stored on Telegram servers and not only will not take up space in the storage, but will also allow you to access it whenever you want.
In my opinion, Google decided too late to implement Nearby Sharing, because today the relevance of data transfer one-to-one has practically disappeared. For most people, it's easier to forward a link to a cloud storage than to transfer a file directly. Yes, I agree, there are situations when there is no Internet connection, but you need to share the file. But, I say honestly, I have never had such situations over the past 5 years.
And what kind of situations can it be? Even in the villages of the European part of Russia, there is LTE, Wi-Fi on trains, and you can prepare for a flight in advance. Unless in the woods, you might need to hand over a photo to that bearded bard with a guitar sitting by the fire and playing Giuliani's Fifth Etude. But this is such a rare scenario that to bother with the development of an entire technology just for the sake of it, in my opinion, it was as inexpedient as possible.