Summary
- Google is developing cross-device services that will allow seamless sharing of data, including Wi-Fi passwords and video calls, between Android devices.
- Users will be able to form device groups and control which features they want to share, as well as remove individual devices from the group.
- The cross-device services interface is already available with developer flags, suggesting that Google may announce this feature soon, possibly in the upcoming March Feature Drop.
Google is slowly building an Apple-like ecosystem of its own, with Android phones and Chromebooks tightly integrating to share internet access, notifications, and even messaging apps through screen streaming. People who have multiple Android devices, like a phone and a tablet, are left out from this integration, at least right now. It looks like this is about to change with an update to Google’s cross-devices services.
As the name implies, Android’s cross-device services will allow you to seamlessly move certain data across different devices. The system is already in use for Chromebooks, but as spotted by Android expert @AssembleDebug on X, it might soon enable a tighter integration of Android devices, as well. The tinkerer was able to activate a few hidden flags to enable a new setup screen and some settings for cross-device services, which explain how they will work.
As the setup flow reveals, cross-device services will let you “easily find and share with other devices signed in to your Google Account.” Once you’ve linked two or more devices to form a group, it will be possible to seamlessly share Wi-Fi passwords and hotspots across them, and you will also be able to move video calls between them. Google additionally teases that more features are coming soon in the setup cards.
To avoid unintentional or nefarious linking of devices, you will have to confirm that you want to join your device group on each of your devices manually. By default, all recent Android devices you’re signed into will receive an invitation to the group, but you can uncheck those you don’t want to add while you’re in the process. Once you’ve got a group set up, you can use toggles to control which features you want to share. It’s also possible to remove individual devices from the group, if you want to exclude them altogether.
While the cross-device services interface is readily available with the right developer flags enabled, the features have neither been announced yet nor are have they been spotted rolling out in the wild. Given that the features appear to be working for AssembleDebug and the interface looks nearly finished, we wouldn’t be surprised if Google announced cross-device services soon — especially because the company has reportedly been working on this for four months. It’s possible that Google is holding cross-device services back for the March Feature Drop, which should officially introduce all the features the company has been testing in Android 14 QPR2 next month.
Source link
