Unexpectedly, Google is now giving Nearby Share a new name: Quick Share. Originally designed as simply a means to quickly transfer files between Android devices, it was later expanded to support Chromebooks and Windows PCs so that file sharing would be even smoother with Quickshare by your side.
Like Apple’s AirDrop, Nearby Share makes it easy to share files with other devices and also enables cross-platform sharing. It means that users can easily send files to themselves or friends and even receive files from anyone. After much success and practicality, Google has chosen to change the service’s label from Nearby Share, which it had used since 2020.
The rebranding news leaked out when users said they picked up the new information after installing a beta update to Google Play services (version 23.50.13). An accompanying notification explained the change to Quick Share as well as revealing a new icon comprising two pointing arrows with semi-circular tails. The new icon is now found in the Quick Settings tile of most Android devices, replacing a previous design that looked like interbroken opposing arrowheads or boomerangs.
Although for all practical purposes the change is purely cosmetic, with no impact on its usability, it is interesting that Google has decided to go with Quick Share. Indeed, Samsung uses this same moniker for a file-sharing utility on Galaxy phones. Is there any connection between this moniker and Samsung’s existing Quick Share?
Currently, QuickShare can only be observed in test releases of Play Services, so it may take a few more weeks for all Android users to become familiar with it as ‘Nearby Share’. Until the official launch of Quick Share, it remains to be seen whether this rebranding presages more serious changes or expansions in the scope of file sharing.
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